Timed Out
by dreemseeker
Summary: Response to the challenge sent out from MomofPhoenix. Stephanie has discovered a few things during the latest timeout with Joe. Established characters. Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

_Standard FF disclaimers apply. _

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Timed Out

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The clock, on the wall across the hall, silently and stealthily tracked each minute. The blue LED lights cast a ghostly glow in the darkened hallway. Though she didn't want to, Stephanie glanced at it. Again. Showing her rising frustration, she scowled and closed her eyes for a moment. Turning back to the computer screen, she swore under her breath at the error message she found there. Again.

"Connection Timed out- please try again"

Her concern had grown with every passing minute, and she was really starting to hate that stupid clock. On top of everything else, it had to be in military time. Converting the numbers in her head, she realized that she had been working on this one assignment for over four hours. It was not for lack of available information, she knew that everything she needed was out there somewhere, if her computer would just let her access it.

This had been happening all afternoon. Hector and the new recruit Aaron somebody had already been by to try and solve the problem for her, but apparently it was not actually her computer that was acting up, like they had first thought. The 'Timed Out' message, that was popping up whenever she tried to load a new page, indicated a network glitch. And those kinds of issues were out of her league, especially with a system as complicated as the one they had here at Rangeman.

If she had not promised both Rodriguez and Ranger that the files would be completed before she left, Stephanie would have been fine with shutting everything down for the evening. But she knew how much these searches needed to be done before the mysterious visitors arrived in the morning.

Pushing back her chair with a little more force than she intended, she hit the wall behind her and bounced forward. The sharp whip made her neck twinge and she immediately regretted her impulsive action. But it served to knock an idea into her head. Encouraged with her new course of action she stood, grabbing her bag on her way out.

19:52 flashed to 19:53 as she passed the clock, one last glance and she was gone. Stephanie waved a hand over her head and yelled goodbye to whoever was left on the floor, a few muffled words reached her ears and she nodded slightly as she opened the stairwell door and took the stairs two at a time down to the parking garage.

If she could get home quickly, she could pull up the programs she needed on the laptop that Ranger had let her take home last week. "In case of emergencies," he had told her before he left town. Well this certainly counted as an emergency in her book. He would back sometime during the night, and she was determined to have the information ready for him when he needed it.

She was still in the dark, Ranger was being secretive about the details of the meeting tomorrow. No big surprise there. But Stephanie got the distinct feeling that this time, he was completely justified in keeping this one close to the cuff. Ranger had told her more than once that he trusted her instincts, and this was a good time for her to believe in that intuition too. Unfortunately, her gut told her that Ranger was going to be in a bad position if he didn't have the intel that he needed. It was up to her to make sure that he was as prepared as he could be. With the system malfunction at the office, it was now up to her to get it for him any way she could.

Her hunger, that she had been complaining about more than an hour ago, was now forgotten. Stephanie rushed back to her apartment with a single minded purpose. A faint nagging in the back of her mind was telling her that she was overlooking something important. Dinner was the obvious thing, so she dismissed the feeling. It wasn't until she was jamming the key into her lock that she remembered that Joe had called her this morning. Her brow wrinkled in a frown, she really didn't have time for that right now.

They had been in another time out. It had lasted about six months this time, including the time that he had been gone on a training leave for the TPD. Now he was back and he had asked her to come over to his place for the Ranger's game tonight. He'd promised her Pino's and a good time. "It's time we catch up with each other," he had said. And she knew that he was right. They did have a lot to discuss. This morning, when they talked, she had had every intention of getting it done as soon as possible. Now her search was much more important. She let the thought pass through her head that she should give Joe a call and let him know that she couldn't make it. But it left her consciousness the second she walked into the apartment. Her eyes zeroed in on the laptop that was was sitting on the kitchen table. She dropped her bag on the couch, and walked directly to the computer.

Within mere minutes she was logged into the first search program. One by one she got started on the names that she had been given. There were several places to find information on the three people that Ranger needed to know about. Stephanie did not stop until all of the searches were running. Finally, she sat back and watched the magic begin to happen. It would be at least fifteen minutes now before she could start compiling everything into the various reports, so she stood up and stretched.

Logic told her that she should get something to eat while she had this time. A peanut butter sandwich was her only option, so she ate it standing over the kitchen sink washing it down with a glass of water. She wiped her mouth and hands when she was done and sat back down at the table.

DJ Miller was the name on the first file. Stephanie watched as the information started showing up. Military records showed that the helicopter pilot was highly decorated. She only took time to skim the pages, but Stephanie was impressed with the guy.

Francis Turner was next, an older man who was apparently a fisherman from Nicosia. Stephanie took a closer look, that didn't make any sense. Turner didn't seem like a name you would find in a country called Nicosia. She had never heard of Nicosia, but it didn't take long for her to discover that it was strategically located close to Syria and Turkey. "That can't be good," she muttered. A cold shudder played along the nerves down her back. Why was he coming here?

When the pages began piling up on a man named John Smith, Stephanie's anxiety had reached a whole new level. That sure seemed like a name you used when you didn't want anyone to know who you were. Her fingers were flying over the keys as she pulled up one report after another to try to get a good picture of who this guy was.

None of the information on him was real, she just knew it. There was too much information about Mr Smith. Stephanie shook her head as she tried to wade through everything. She had learned a few things working with Ranger. Number one on that list is that things are rarely what they seem to be. And number two; people often try to bury their true identity under piles of useless details. They counted on people to be lazy or unwilling to spend their time sorting through it all.

Stephanie was not one of those people. Ranger had trusted her with this job, and had made sure that she was prepared to do it. Between Ranger and Rodriguez, Stephanie had learned many of their tricks. She used them now to paint the true picture of this man for Ranger. He needed to be prepared, this guy was definitely not what he wanted people to think he was.

She organized the information in each of the files, and was almost done when the medical records for Miller came in. Stephanie stared at the page. Her breath stuck in her throat and she made a squeaking sound. She did not like this one bit, but she couldn't say why it bothered her so much. The 'F' on the file indicated that DJ Miller was a woman. Stephanie searched for a photo. One that did not show Miller in uniform. Finally she found it, a university ID showed her to be a beautiful girl with long flowing blonde hair. On second thought, she knew exactly why it was bothering her.

Three hours later, the files were completed. Stephanie finally became aware of her surroundings. Rex was now running on his wheel, getting in his nightly calisthenics. She rose and rushed to check his water and food situation, a bit chagrined that she had forgotten all about him earlier.

Rex didn't even miss a beat as she greeted her furry little friend and replenished his dishes. Stephanie was relieved to know he was not upset with her, and didn't hold the delay against her. "I'll be back," she told him. She pulled out the flash drive from the computer and packed both it and the laptop into the black leather bag that Ranger had given her.

Instantly, the scents of leather and the distinctive essence of Ranger reached her senses and made her smile. She took only a quick personal moment to take it all in, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. She really had missed him. Thoughts of seeing him again tomorrow caused her stomach to flutter as she headed out the door.

With the computer bag secured over one shoulder, Stephanie moved down the hall toward the stairs. She slipped the strap of her purse over her other shoulder and that is when she felt the vibration coming from the bottom of her handbag. Realizing that she must have left her phone on vibrate all evening, it finally dawned on her that she had not called Joe.

Reading the screen confirmed that she had missed at least ten calls from him. She also noted that it was nearly 11:30 P.M. now. She quickly debated whether she should call him this late. Wrinkling her nose at the prospect, she delayed that decision for a split second. Then she sucked it up and dialed his number, tucking the phone up to her ear as she unlocked her car door. She listened as it continued to ring and ring. Sliding into the seat, she started the car. By the time she pulled away from her building, the call had gone into voice mail. Joe did not answer. She hadn't expected him to.

"Joe," Stephanie said, regret evident in her voice. "Joe, I am so sorry, something came up tonight and time got away from me." She hesitated before adding the last part of her message. "We really do need to talk. Call me tomorrow?" She tossed the phone onto the seat next to her and sighed.

This situation was going to be hard enough. Messing up tonight was not going to help at all. But she was not about to kick herself for her lapse of memory. Ranger needed her. That came first. She took a deep breath and made her way back to Haywood Street.

The building was hushed and dimmed. Only the night crew was here right now. Bluish lights, from the banks of monitor screens, flickered and cast an unworldly glow on the walls and the faces of the guys as she passed by. "Where's Hector?" she asked.

Three sets of eyes turned to her, but it was Woody who spoke up first and directed her to the back of the room. "He's got a temporary router set up in the corner," he told her pointing the way.

She smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Stephanie found Hector deep in conversation and pointing to one of the three screens that were perched on several sturdy looking card tables. The only light source back here was the single desk lamp whose neck had been bent far enough over that its illumination was concentrated on the center keyboard. Hector was directly in front of that light, and Stephanie was almost within touching range before she noticed that it was Aaron sitting to his right, and that there was someone else seated in the shadows to his left.

It only took a moment for her to recognize the outline of his silhouette. After all the craziness of the day, it was so good to see him here now. "Oh, good," she said quietly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You're here."

Again three heads turned toward the sound of her voice. Hector and Aaron nodded and got back to their work. The third person stood as Stephanie was digging into the computer bag. She looked up at him and handed over the small flash drive.

"I wasn't sure if the system was still down, so I didn't want to depend on the connection to get the intel to you," she explained.

"You finished it then?" he asked with a hint of a smile. He had no doubt that she would, she always did. "Let's go use his computer."

Stephanie nodded and followed him to Ranger's office. She watched as Rodriguez booted up the computer. He accessed the information from the drive, nodding with satisfaction over her thoroughness. In no time it was saved in an encrypted file and he turned off the computer.

"He'll be here in about an hour," he said as he stood and walked around the desk. Stephanie nodded. His praise for her diligent work was wrapped in his sparse actions. She understood. Rodriguez, like most of the guys here, was a man of few words.

They walked back toward the monitoring desks. Stephanie knew that he was going to walk her to her car. She appreciated the thought, but she did not want to go home. An internal debate was going on inside her brain. Ranger was going to be back in just an hour. That wasn't long, she could wait here for him. He had been gone for a week. It had been the longest week of her life. She had something that she wanted to tell him.

Should she stay and try to talk to him about it? No, she decided. She needed his undivided attention, and she couldn't get it tonight. Her shoulders drooped a little as she followed Rodriguez out. She did not want to go home, but she couldn't stay here either. She may not be getting any sleep tonight. But she knew that she had to give Ranger the time he needed to go through the files she had worked all day to get for him.

Rodriguez was still watching as she pulled her car into the street. His solitary image stayed with her all the way home. His posture told her that he was concerned. She had seen the subtle change when he looked over the files. Her anxieties from earlier had been heightened. No, she would not be getting any sleep at all tonight. But she hoped that she could at least put a lid on her overactive imagination.


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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The apartment was quiet, so very quiet. The usually nocturnal Rex was making no movement right now, no sounds. It seemed that none of her neighbors were up at the crack of dawn today, as they usually were, to watch their news programs at full volume. Even the faucet in the bathroom had lost its annoying drip. Somewhere in her consciousness, the silence was deafening. Stephanie woke up late, her breathing was the only thing that she could hear. Her heart was pounding as the urgency to get moving catapulted her from the bed. Barely willing to spend the time to shower, she stepped into the spray of water without letting it warm up thoroughly. A shiver shook her momentarily, but before she knew it, she was dressed and wrestling with her wet hair.

In a haze of blurry lights, the silence continued as she raced to work. Her mind never registered that she had made every green light, or that the cars around her were surprisingly well behaved. Not once was she tailgated or nearly cut off, but she didn't even notice. The parking space next to the elevator at the RangeMan building was not only available, it was the only spot that Stephanie could see in the whole garage. Her car glided into place and the next thing she knew, the elevator doors were opening and she stepped out on the fifth floor. She could hear hushed voices, but she couldn't see anyone. Wandering through the hallways, as if she was lost in a maze, Stephanie followed the one voice that she recognized above all the others.

Turning a corner, she stopped, frozen in place. Ranger was standing there, his focus was on the pilot that she had researched yesterday. Stephanie took in all the details of this woman as if she was filming her in slow motion. Her silky golden hair tumbled over her shoulders and trailed down her back where the ends flipped coquettishly every time she moved. Thick lashes fanned her tanned cheeks as she blinked, her eyes raised in admiration when she looked up at Ranger. Stephanie watched in horror as DJ the pilot raised a slender, graceful hand and laid it gently along the side of Ranger's cheek. Heat flared from her own cheeks and Stephanie moved forward to interrupt that overly personal moment and divert Ranger's attention.

As they both turned in her direction, Stephanie was suddenly painfully aware of her own appearance. The sexy pilot was wearing a sleek black flight suit, that hugged her magnificent curves. Stephanie looked down to see that she was sloppily dressed, in faded jeans and t-shirt that she had hastily grabbed from the chair in her bedroom during her rush this morning. She was pretty sure that they were clean, no matter how wrinkled they looked, but she couldn't hide her embarrassment. She looked like a wreck with these shabby clothes, and her unruly hair that was barely restrained with an old hair tie and was still damp from her shower as it fell into her face.

DJ barely glanced at Stephanie before turning her focus back to Ranger. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him down the hall, away from Stephanie. Without even acknowledging her presence, Ranger moved past Stephanie. His arm curled around DJ's waist and he pulled her close to him as they walked.

Stephanie found it hard to breathe as a thousand thoughts flew through her mind. She was hurt beyond belief. Seeing Ranger with another woman killed her. What had happened that she had lost him so completely? It wasn't right, it just couldn't be happening, especially not when she had finally come to understand what she wanted. With Joe gone for so long, she had made a big decision. This whole past week had been spent in deep introspection. Much of her soul searching had been triggered by the conversation she had had with Mary Lou a few weeks ago. Her friend's words had circled around her brain, over and over again.

"Stephanie, timeouts are for sports," Mary Lou had said. "I hate to say it, but taking timeouts with Joe just means that you two are not in a relationship."

At the time, Stephanie was taken aback. She was not sure exactly what her friend meant, relationships were not easy, everyone said so. She had thought that she was working on building her relationship with Joe. Sometimes they just both needed some time to work things out. Didn't they? Didn't everybody? Could she have been so wrong about everything? Since that day, Stephanie had questioned her own intentions when she had declared timeouts. She finally realized that for her, every single time, it had meant that she was done with it. It was over. Now she wondered why she just hadn't told him so in no uncertain terms. And if it was over, why did she always go back when he came around again? Her answers had not really surprised her. She knew that she had known all along. She had just needed the will to fight for what she truly wanted.

Now she was too late, Ranger was lost to her. Stephanie felt herself slip to the floor. Ranger and DJ were no longer in sight. She suddenly each of her senses picked up the strange sensations surrounding her. She became intensely aware of the rough texture of the commercial carpet underneath her. Once muted voices now rang in her ears. The faint smells of ink and paper now overwhelmed her. Harsh lights glared in her eyes, blinding her. The whole world started pressing in on her. Breaking out into a cold sweat, she could no longer breathe.

Gasping for breath, Stephanie jolted up from the couch. Some old black and white movie flickered on her small TV screen, disorienting her. Grabbing the armrest for support, she steadied herself. Her eyes darted around the shadows until she could see that she was in her apartment. Instead of the sleepless night that Stephanie had feared, it seems that her imagination had shifted into hyper drive and she had been caught up in some truly horrible nightmares. She could not forget just how real it had felt. There had been just enough of her own reality to make it very believable. As her breathing calmed, she grabbed her phone and looked at the time. Four o'clock in the morning, and there was no way she would go back to sleep now. Something had been bothering her. Okay, obviously there were several things on her mind. The spike of jealousy had just caught her off guard, but that was not what was still causing her to worry about the searches she had just finished last night. She just had to give herself a minute to think.

There had definitely been something phony about Smith, no doubt about that, but she thought that she had done a pretty good job at sifting through the lies to find the tiny bit of truth about him. There were several facts about Smith that she was certain about. He was an engineer. He had been Mr John Smith for exactly 12 years. Before that he did not exist.

Someone did not want anyone knowing what he had been doing before he surfaced in Nicosia, leading the research into offshore production of both crude oil and natural gas in that region. Even that information had been sketchy. Political turmoil has been plaguing the surrounding countries, and it was difficult to track all of his movements. Knowing this much about him did not explain why he would be coming to RangeMan Inc to meet with Ranger. The more she had found out about this guy, the more questions she'd had, but she was realizing that he was not the biggest problem. What if he was a decoy, included to throw them off of the real threat? Stephanie started to shake her head, maybe she was just being paranoid, why would there be all of these conspiracy theories?

Slowly she stood and moved to the computer. The nightmare finally faded. Her brain was kicking in, and she was becoming suspicious. She hadn't felt right about this from the beginning. The information had come all too easily. Yeah, she had spent hours searching for it, but it had been so readily available. She had not had to dig that hard, and now that bothered her. Would she have seen this earlier if they hadn't had those problems as RangeMan yesterday? She had been in such a hurry to just get these searches done. Stephanie felt sick to think that she had missed things, not just about Smith who she did think was hiding something or Turner who hadn't seemed to fit, but now for DJ Miller too. She would deal with the men later, it was the mysterious pilot that had Stephanie's full attention at the moment. Her dreams were not just random, her instincts were telling her something, and causing her to ask the questions she hadn't before. Who was Miller really? And what interest did she have with Smith or Turner or, for that matter, Ranger? Her gut was telling her that something was off, it was all wrong. Stephanie needed the answers to these questions and she knew she only had a couple of hours to find them. The laptop came to life, pulling up the files she had just finished. Stephanie opened Miller's information and read through it again.

Going back to the beginning was her best bet. It was time to see where it all began for DJ Miller. And that, she knew, was in Iowa. The simple small town girl turned professional military pilot was something of an enigma, and Stephanie wondered what the folks back home had to say about her? She pulled up several local newspapers and started searching in their archives. Thank goodness for Ranger's incredible programs! Hits for her search started popping up one after another. Stephanie started with the oldest articles first. Debra Jean Miller was a Presidential Scholar award recipient, the first ever from her small high school. This honor merited an article complete with a picture of the pretty young lady and her family. So did her acceptance into the Air Force upon graduation from college, this time she was alone in the photo, proud in her sharp uniform and crisp hat. Stephanie marveled at how different Miller looked when she was younger.

So far, Stephanie was having a hard time hating the woman that had just played so prominently in her nightmares. Miller had worked hard and was adored by all who knew her. So what was the deal here? With frustration she pulled up the next article. Her eyes widened and she nearly choked. This couldn't be right. Stephanie spent the next ten minutes jumping back and forth between the remaining articles. There had been an accident. The paper said that DJ Miller had been badly burned during an explosion while she was home on a short leave. She had come for a visit and her family had been involved in a car accident. They had all eventually died. Stephanie was shaking her head. While the accident had received front page attention in the paper, their deaths months later had not. One tiny obituary had included Debra Jean in the list of the deceased along with her entire family. That had been four years ago. Why then, were there official photos of DJ Miller in full dress uniform taken as recent as last July?

Immediately Stephanie accessed the file from the Air Force. She found that there was an accident mentioned in her file too. It said that it happened during a training maneuver gone wrong in Turkey. By this account, Miller had been the pilot when an errant ground missile had hit the copter. Her immediate actions saved all of the men who had been with her. That was one of the things that had impressed Stephanie earlier. Miller had added Valor Commendations to her list of medals that day. In the end, her extensive injuries earned her a stay at the military hospital in Germany for over a year, an incredibly long time considering that no one else had been hurt nearly that badly.

Stephanie leaned forward, holding her head in her hands while she stared at the screen. What was she to believe, the military file, or the quote of DJ's heartbroken fiance who mourned her death? That buzz at the back of her brain told her that Miller was trouble. If she was not who she claimed to be, who was she and why was she impersonating Miller. Stephanie knew that what she needed was a death certificate. That was the next step in discovering what had really happened to Miller. Her fingers sprang into action, there was one more search she could make. Accessing the Iowa electronic death registration system, she requested a copy of the death certificate. After filling out the required information, she was immediately directed to a page where she could verify her relationship to the deceased and pay for the copy. The EDRS said she could have it in four to six weeks. Deleting her inquiry, Stephanie smiled. She wasn't going to order it. Not being a relative, they would not send it to her anyway, and if it turned out that Ranger needed it, she was sure that Rodriguez had other sources where he could get it immediately. Right now, it was enough to know that it was there. She copied the articles and was about to forward them to Ranger when something made her stop. Though she was pretty sure that Hector had been taking care of the network problems, suddenly she did not feel like it would be a good idea to send this information. Since she had already given Rodriguez the flash drive that she used before, she copied the new file onto a cd. Satisfied that she could safely access it when she got to RangeMan, she logged out and closed the computer.

Now the urgency she felt to get this new information to Ranger rivaled what she had felt in her dream. Unlike the nightmares, however, she knew that she could take time to properly shower and make herself look presentable before heading into RangeMan. It had been a week since Ranger had seen her, and maybe she was being overly sensitive about what had happened in the dream, but she was not about to let there be even a remote chance of finding herself in that kind of situation.

It was still dark when she pulled into the garage. Ranger's Cayenne was now parked in the spot next to the elevator, and Stephanie was more than happy to pull into her usual space, even if it was as far from the entrance as it could get. It was enough not to be re-creating anything from her bad dream.

Woody and Hal greeted her as she stepped out of the elevator. She didn't even try to hide her relieved smile to see them there. "Hey guys," she said, walking toward the monitoring desk. "Is Ranger in his office?"

Before they could respond, Rodriguez walked down the hall. "He's on a conference call right now," he answered for them. Rodriguez looked over at the clock and then back at Stephanie. "What are you doing here so early?" he asked.

Stephanie looked him straight in the eyes. "There's more," she said simply. Rodriguez nodded and she joined him as he turned to walk back in the direction that he had just come from.

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	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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Back in his makeshift corner, Hector was more angry than frustrated. But make no mistake about it, he was both. His hands were in motion as he tried to explain what he had found. Tank listened intently to the narrative that was coming out half in english and half in spanish, both very rapidly. Over time, he had come to understand Hector's unique dialect, and he knew that this always happened when Hector was upset. His steady stream of words almost made Tank smile. Hector looked like he was conducting an orchestra. His hands flying in the air one minute, trying to emphasize his points. And the next they were back down on the keyboard tapping out commands to his complicated computer systems.

Next to him, at his own computer, Aaron Gutierrez had no problem at all understanding each word that Hector said. Every so often, he would offer a comment, or ask a question, but for the most part, he listened and followed all of Hectors instructions. They made a good team, and Tank was impressed with Ranger's newest recruit. Hector himself had recommended him, and it looked like Aaron was everything that he said he would be. All of the guys were good with the technology they used here at RangeMan, but Hector was the best. He and Silvio practically rebuilt the whole system to keep the company safeguarded and running smoothly. Now Hector was angry that someone had tried to disrupt his systems.

"I don't know como lo hizo," Hector said again. It made him more than upset to think that someone could hack his program.

"They would have to have been onsite," Aaron suggested, he knew that there were too many security walls to let anyone in any other way.

"No, no, no!" Hector's hands were moving again. "No one gets into my building. Nadie se puede."

Laying a hand on Hector's shoulder, Tank quietly got his attention. Hector stood statue still, it was the first time that he had stopped moving since Tank had walked in the room. Again he felt like smiling, but instead Tank kept his face neutral as their eyes met. He nodded, and it was understood, they would make this right, and they would find out who had done this to them. Hector's slight head movement signalled that he was on it. He was not going to stop until he found out who had attempted this attack. The moment Tank turned to leave, Hector was in motion again. He would fix this.

Tank walked down the hallway toward his office. He shook his head, three in the morning was a strange time to be having this kind of conversation, but there was no other time that it could be done. He and Ranger had just returned from their assignment, and had found Hector in the midst of redirecting the internet signals coming into the system. They were aware of the situation, having been informed on their way home, and it was cause for concern. Too many strange things had happened since receiving that call from General Kinkaid, two days ago. No one knew what had triggered this panic in the General. The man, who had always been such a stonewall, had seemed agitated and indicated that Francis Turner needed to see them urgently. He had not said why. Nor had he explained just who Turner was. It was odd for the General to be calling at all, he had not done so for nearly a year. For the most part, RangeMan had phased out their involvement with any government contracts that were not directly related to the security services that they offered. It was a professional courtesy that had Ranger agreeing to take the meeting with this man and his associates. Now he was beginning to wonder what they had gotten themselves into. He was going to get some answers just as soon as he could get a call set up with General Kinkaid. Tank would be on the call with him, and they would get to the bottom of this. For now, Ranger was going through the information that Stephanie had gathered for him about the three mysterious people that were scheduled to show up in a few hours. Rodriguez was standing by the door, waiting. His military stance gave away his training, and his scowl showed his apprehension. He had been on duty since yesterday afternoon, when he got the call from Stephanie that the searches were not working. Now he was not willing to leave, not until he knew what was going on. Ranger looked up at him. The nod was slight, but it was enough that Rodriguez knew it was time to continue their discussion. Ranger silently indicated the chair by the desk and he came and sat down.

"Report," he said, dividing his attention between his computer screen and the uncharacteristically nervous man sitting in front of him. As if taking up from their previous conversations, Rodriguez began to speak.

"We had Hector and Aaron running around for hours trying to get rid of the problem that had caused the "Timed Out" message," Rodriguez said. "Hector just kept saying that it shouldn't be happening." He shifted in the chair, obviously uncomfortable with the situation.

"I thought that Stephanie was being paranoid when she left to do the searches at home," Rodriguez said when Ranger looked up from what he had just read. "But now with what Hector found, I think she was right. We can't trust things here, not yet."

Many thoughts were running through Ranger's head, things that he had been thinking about for a couple of days, and things that had been on his mind for weeks now. While he was paying attention to Rodriguez, he was also carrying on an internal dialog about the decision he had made a short time ago. It was time that he told Stephanie what he was thinking. He had been reluctant to let himself believe that she was ready to hear it, but he had seen that her circumstances had changed. Her latest time-out with Morelli had gone on over six months now. This was a new record for them, and Ranger was hoping that the right time had finally come. She didn't know that he had been carefully watching her. That he had seen her changing with every passing month, he liked what he saw. He knew that he had been changing too. Maybe it was that he was getting older, seeing things in a new way. Or maybe he had realized that his old philosophy about relationships was hurting him more that protecting him. And maybe the fact that the cop, the last obstacle in his way, was no longer an issue. After month three of their current time-out, he had seen through her actions and various comments that Morelli was no longer part of her life. His heart had felt a surge of hope that had increased every single day. Ranger's focus came back to the discussion when Tank joined them.

"He's right," Tank said, walking in through the door. "Hector has his own connections made now, but he is convinced that someone may have tampered with the system. I think he is considering it an insult, personal affront."

None of them considered this situation to be just a coincidence. It would be foolish to treat it as such. A plan needed to be made to handle the upcoming meeting. The information that Stephanie had gathered was helpful, but it did not answer the questions why. Why were these people coming here? And why was the General involved with them? Ranger had no doubt that he could get the information from the visitors, once they got here, but he was always one who liked having the upper hand in every situation. He would like to have had that now.

The phone on the desk rang. All three men stared at it. Ranger lifted the receiver and put it to his ear. He didn't say anything, he knew who it was. Rodriguez stood and tipped his head first at Ranger and then at Tank as he walked out of the room. Tank took the chair that he had just vacated and listened as Ranger put the Kinkaid on speaker.

"General," Ranger said just the one word, and then waited for the man to start talking.

The voices faded from his hearing as Rodriguez walked down the hall. He was in charge of the acquisition of information at RangeMan. A job that he had always taken very seriously. He did not like that flow of knowledge had been tampered with. They were all looking, and they would find the cause of this breach, he knew they would. But knowing that did nothing to ease his apprehension right now. The frown on his face made him look angry to most people, but to those who knew him well, the scowl was a sign of his intention to find a solution to a problem. They also knew to stay out of his way when he was this intent.

Stephanie knew that look too, and when he walked toward her, she had a choice to make. It was a no brainer. She had information that Ranger needed. They had a problem, and she was not going stop, not until they made things right. Until she could talk to Ranger, Stephanie was determined that everyone knew what she had found. These people were going to be here, it was important that everyone knew what they were dealing with.

She followed Rodriguez back to his desk. Wordlessly she handed over the CD, and waited as he pulled up the information. She watched his reaction. Without hesitation, he removed the disc and headed toward Ranger's office, Stephanie was following close behind him. Her determination to make sure he was informed was suddenly mixed with a nervousness she hadn't expected. She knew exactly where it was coming from. In just a few seconds she would see Ranger. It would be nothing like she had pictured it would be, she knew that. But nothing could dim her excitement to be near him again.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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From the front, the red brick building on Haywood Street looked like a perfect square, as tall as it was wide. Other than that, there was nothing particularly special about it. Since it was surrounded by equally non descript buildings, it did not draw much attention. That was the way the owners of RangeMan Inc wanted it. The double doors of the street level entry, as well as the wide window panels that flanked it, were all tinted bullet proof glass. Only a small brass plate identified it as the location of RangeMan Inc. Most people who came to these doors came deliberately, and usually by invitation.

None of the guys who worked in this here used the front entrance. They came in through the parking garage at the back of the building. The entry did not see that much traffic, but that is not to imply that it was not always heavily guarded. It was, twenty-four hours a day. The rest of the building was quiet at six o'clock that morning, when Junior came to relieve Benny from the front desk duty. A quick nod of acknowledgement was all the men exchanged, as the switch took place. Junior watched the elevator doors close, he shrugged, he was alone now for the next couple of hours. He might as well get it started. Thank goodness Tank only scheduled short two hour shifts at this station, it was the most boring job at RangeMan. There were only two things to do here, monitor the front of the building, and deal with anyone who came through the front door. Junior checked the schedule on the desk, no clients were scheduled to come in on his shift. Circling the tall reception desk, he did a perimeter check. All quiet, nothing to report. As usual. Junior adjusted the strap of his shoulder holster and settled in behind the reception desk. He let out an inaudible sigh, nothing he could do about another dull stint up here.

He turned his attention to the bank of monitors that lined the inside of the desk. Images on the four small screens in front of him showed the front face of the entrance, the two edges of this side of the building and the roofline seven stories above the entry doors. Nothing was happening on any of the screens. No surprise there, he thought, and he didn't expect that anything would while he was here. He spent the next hour playing with the dials, tightening the images on each monitor. Anything to keep busy. Soft light was beginning to fill the sky when Junior sat back and was about to put his feet up on the desk. Suddenly, his gut clenched. Instinct kicked in, his hands were a blur, tapping the keyboard and flipping switches. Something was wrong. The images he was seeing on the roof monitors couldn't be right. Where were the birds?

In the dim light of his impromptu work station, Hector was pacing, like a small caged animal. Something that Aaron had said earlier kept circling around inside his brain. Though Hector had dismissed it as impossible, he still let himself worry over it. No one could get into this building without their knowledge, it just could not happen. Not with their high level of security and extensive monitoring. No se puede. The words echoed in his mind. They couldn't. There were cameras looking at every inch of this building, and men monitoring those views at all times. How could someone get onsite to tamper with his system? They couldn't, it was his answer to every scenario that he played through in his head.

The phone in his pocket buzzed. Hector pulled it out, looking at the screen. Suddenly Hector stopped in his tracks and looked at Aaron. Without a word, he turned and raced to the stairwell. Aaron got up and followed him, not at all sure what was going on, but he wanted to see what Hector was doing. They ran up the two flights of stairs to the top. A key card was required to open the door that led to the roof. Hector grabbed the retractable badge reel at his waist and swiped the card over the small black panel and waited a split second for the click of the lock. He pushed the door open and stepped out. From the door, he could see the front edge of the building. Hector moved forward, his eyes constantly scanning, looking for anything that would indicate that someone had been here. With Aaron right behind him, he walked quickly to the front corner of the building. He leaned over and let loose a stream of Spanish words. Aaron had never heard his mentor speak like that before and he stood there staring at Hector.

With a motion of his hand, Hector directed Aaron's attention to the ledge below the roof-line. Aaron looked over the edge with curiosity. He saw a series of small dome shaped structures made of mud and twigs. None of them were any larger than a cantaloupe, and all but the one on the end closest to the corner of the building, were still intact. He noticed that that one had been built too close to a metal panel box. Opening the door of that box had smashed in the side of the round nest. It took a moment for Aaron to understand what he was seeing. The wires had been tampered with, he knew that that was enough to make Hector upset, but he got the distinct impression that Hector's reaction, just now, had been about much more than that. He stood back and looked at Hector. Hector nodded. Yes, someone had been here, and it hadn't been any of the RangeMen.

Hector took up his pacing again. He had to think. The wires and connections inside of that box had been checked only a week ago. Hector had taken care of the scheduled maintenance personally. But even if he hadn't, he knew that everyone here would have taken great care to leave the nest undisturbed. When the birds had shown up a couple of years ago, no one had had the heart to kick them out. Instead, the tiny brown house sparrows had become the closest thing to a pet that some of these men had ever had. Aaron could only stare at Hector, he had no idea that there had been a family of birds living here under the protective eye of his co-workers. There was no way, since he was no expert on birds, that he could know that with having one of their nests compromised the birds were in hiding. He certainly would never have guessed that so many of the RangeMen would have been saddened by their disappearance. What he did know, instinctively, was that this situation was far more upsetting than he could imagine. Wisely, he decided not to say anything about it.

Hector stopped and stared at the box again. Anger rose in his gut, he was not sure what pissed him off the most, the fact that his systems had been touched, or that someone had ruthlessly destroyed the home of the little birds. He swallowed hard and bent over the edge again. Carefully examining the wires, Hector could see that there had been a small wiretapping device installed to the internet cables. While it still made him mad, Hector knew that whoever did this never got the information that they may have been after. He imagined that it didn't take long for them to see that it didn't work. They probably would have tested its effectiveness as soon as it was installed.

"This was our problem all along," Hector said. "It didn't do what they wanted it to, but leaving it on the cable affected the internet reception." He was shaking his head in disgust. In his mind he was putting together a timeline. The problems had started yesterday afternoon. Someone had been on the roof undetected, around 0100. It was getting him more and more upset to think about it.

Whoever had done this, they were not professionals. They may have had enough smarts to get themselves onto the roof, but that was where their expertise seemed to run out. The whole thing was an amateurish move on their part, finding that the device didn't work, they should have immediately removed it. Leaving it here only gave RangeMan some clues to who they were. To that end, Hector carefully removed it and placed it on Aaron's flat palm. Instinctively Aaron kept still, not touching it, and not moving it until Hector was ready to go, and he gave it back to him.

"How did they get it here?" Aaron asked as they made their way back down the stairs. He was as concerned as Hector was that anyone could have done this. He did not get an answer, so he asked another question.

"Who texted you? You left right after getting a message, did it have anything to do with that box up there?"

They were at the door to the fifth floor when Hector stopped and turned to face Aaron. He grabbed his phone and pulled up the message. He then handed it to Aaron, who read it in confusion.

_The birds are gone. _

That was all it said. Aaron gave the phone back to Hector with a puzzled look.

"Junior is monitoring the front of the building right now," Hector explained. "He can see the edge where the birds fly in and out of their nests."

Without another word, he pushed the door open and headed down the hall toward Ranger's office. There was some more information that he needed to get to Ranger before his meeting today. And reporting on the birds felt like the right thing to do too. He hoped that someone could do something to bring the birds back.

A million things were racing through Stephanie's mind. Keeping stride with Rodriguez's long gait, she tried to calm the butterflies that were getting more and more active in her stomach. All of her concentration was on the moment that she would see Ranger again. How she would feel when she looked into his eyes, breathed in his scent, touched him. She was so distracted that when Rodriguez abruptly stopped a few yards from Ranger's office door, she nearly ran into him. Stopping just in time, she looked up to see the serious look on his face.

"Ranger is still talking to the General," he whispered. Now that he had said that, Stephanie realized that she could hear the deep, low growl of General Kinkaid. She had only met the man once before, but it was an experience that she would never forget. The man was huge, almost as big as Tank, though he was no longer fit and toned like he used to be. But he still demanded respect, and gave off the attitude that he would take it if it wasn't offered. Stephanie remembered the moment that she had walked in the room to see him standing there. She will admit to being scared spit-less at the way he was yelling at everyone. A smile bloomed on her lips as she also remembered the way Ranger had taken her hand in his and pulled her close that day. Warm feelings from that moment enveloped her again now as she stood perfectly still in the hall. Pleasant shivers played up her back, settling on her neck where the familiar buzz remained. It never failed to amaze her at the connection that she always felt when Ranger was near.

They were not close enough to have been seen, but they were just within earshot to hear the conversation on the speakerphone. It was not as if they had tried to eavesdrop, but they could not help it. The generals voice was not nearly as fierce as she had remembered it, but it was still plenty loud, and if she had not heard what he said herself, she would never have believed it.

Rodriguez was again in his military stance, as if he were in the same room as the general. His head was lowered and eyes were closed. Stephanie got the impression that he wanted to give Ranger and Kinkaid some privacy, but was not willing to go far, since they really did have some urgent information to share. She remained very still, and though privacy was not her objective, she tuned out the general's voice. She was much happier when her mind was filled with thoughts of Ranger.

It was then that Hector and Aaron turned the corner and saw Stephanie and Rodriguez. They slowed their pace as they approached, but it was not until Hector heard Kinkaid's voice that he understood why Stephanie and Rodriguez were just standing motionless in the hallway. He also knew that he was going to have to take a number to talk to Ranger. All he could do was wait. He didn't like it, but there was nothing else to be done.

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	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

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It was still dark outside as Joe Morelli made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He stepped over the big dog still asleep on a blanket near the door. Every other morning, Joe would have laughed at the fact that Bob didn't make a very good watch dog, but not today, he had too many other things on his mind. The cell phone in his hands felt hot, he tossed it onto the counter and sighed. He had dialed Stephanie's number a hundred times this morning, always disconnecting the call before the first ring. Completely unlike last night when he had made numerous calls and had left messages every time. He felt his anger deep in his gut. It had been six months since they had been together. A lot had happened in that time. To him. To her. They had both changed in so many ways. Joe knew it was time to talk about it. That was what last night had been all about. He had made the plans so carefully, keeping it as neutral as he could with a pizza and the game on TV. It had been the perfect set up, their talk could have been low key and calm. He could have said all the things he needed to say, to pave the way into the next phase of their lives. It was time and he had really needed to do it, but she didn't show up. No calls, no messages, just a no-show. He had spent the better part of his evening trying to decide if he was worried about her or mad as hell at her. When she was over three hours late, he concluded that it was equal parts of both.

He resisted going over to her place to confront her. The old Joe would have, but it was not going to be like that this time. He was a new man, he wanted her to know that. But that did not mean that he could just leave it alone. So he called one of his cop friends, on duty, to go past her apartment. She was home, he was told. Her car was in the parking lot, and all of the other cars in the lot belonged to the residents of her building. Even getting this news, and knowing that Manoso wasn't with her, didn't make Morelli feel any better. He still did not know why Stephanie stood him up.

The gurgling sound behind him let him know that the coffee was ready. Morelli busied himself pouring a cup of the hot brew. He went through the automatic motions of adding cream and sugar and sitting down at the kitchen table. His mind was occupied with the conflicting thoughts that still plagued him. Her voice echoed in his head. The message, that she left at nearly midnight, long after he had turned off his phone in frustration, left him feeling unsettled. Yeah, they needed to talk. As soon as they could. Isn't that what he had been trying to tell her all along? Isn't that what they were supposed to do last night? Why had she stood him up? Anger rose like bile in his throat, just to be doused with a heavy wave of anxiety. Was she okay? Why couldn't he just make the call and talk to her. In the midst of grappling over the thoughts going through his mind, Morelli glanced at the clock on the stove. He slumped down in his chair. All this aggravation he was putting himself through, and it was only six in the morning. Stephanie wouldn't even be up yet. He knew her well enough to know that she never got out of bed any earlier that she absolutely had to, and last night had been a late one for her. They would talk. He took a deep breath. They would have the discussion that they needed to have. For now, he was just going to have to wait. He had an early shift today. Grabbing his phone and shoving into his pocket, he picked up his keys on the way out of the door. First break he had later on, he would try again to find her. Until then, he had a job to do, and he had to put her out of his mind for a while.

WITH TIRED EYES, Ranger looked over the papers now scattered on his desk. Except for the two hours of shut eye he got on the plane, he had not slept in over thirty-six hours. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck from side to side, there was not much he could do about it. He knew the schedule would not permit any rest until after the appointment they were all preparing for this morning. Once again he aimed his eyes on the papers in front of him, but he was not getting anything out of reading them again. He tried to concentrate on the intel before him, but it was proving to be more difficult than he had imagined it could be. Of course, he knew exactly why he was feeling a little bit distracted right now. Less than half an hour ago, Stephanie had been here, and now he couldn't get her off of his mind. He closed his eyes, it was her big blue eyes that he could see. Her smile. He even recalled the flowery smell of her freshly washed hair as she stood next to him. After Rodriguez and Hector had added their observations, he had deliberately sent everyone out. He had to, so that he could study the information and try to get a handle on all of the feelings that were starting to swamp him with their intensity.

Taking a deep breath, he focused, one more time, on the intel that had been brought to his attention. He kept his eyes closed and imagined Stephanie standing so close to him. She had been so serious about the way she explained the information that she had found for him. In his mind he re-played her voice, listening to every word she had said. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. He loved how fierce she was about getting him the intel that she knew could protect him from the people he was about to meet. Knowing that did something to him. Deep in his heart. That decision, that he had been thinking about so much about lately, was still at the forefront of his thoughts. And it was with extreme control that he forced himself to turn his attention back to the issues at hand.

Filling his lungs with air, Ranger concentrated on what he knew about Miller, Smith and Turner. Up until now, he had been seeing everything through General Kinkaid's perspective. Stephanie put things in a new light for him, and he really needed that fresh view of things. After all, it had been the general who had sent his team on their last official mission. A lot of water had passed under that bridge since then. Yes, the mission had been a success. All the men came home, relatively undamaged. And yes, they accomplished their objective. But Ranger would never forget the disaster that nearly ended it all for him and his team. He rubbed his still closed eyes with the heels of his hands. He hadn't meant to dredge up those memories, he had kept them safely locked away for nearly a year. But there was something in that experience that needed to be looked at now. The only way to find the answer was to take it out and examine it. He shook his head. He really did not want to think about it, but it was too late now.

His memory took him back to Istanbul, just over twelve months ago. The team met up with their contact, a woman named Beyza. It had been a shock to meet her. She was young, only twenty, but she looked so much younger than that. They had immediately been reluctant to bring in a civilian, especially one who looked as fragile as she did. Like so many others in that part of the world, though, Beyza had been determined to bring peace to her town, to her family. The only way she saw that she could do that was by leading Ranger's team to the man who threatened that goal. As much as they did not like it, Ranger could see that their best bet was to work with her. That meant that they had to trust her, and she had to be willing to trust them too. From the start, she knew that she had been in danger. Ranger could see it in her eyes, and it worried him. But she had proven to be tougher than anyone had given her credit for.

Their journey together had only lasted a couple of weeks, and it had taken them from the Black Sea all the way to Syria. But Beyza never gave up, and she did not stop until they found Adem Asli. She wanted him dead, Ranger knew that, but their orders were to bring him in alive. He wondered now, if Beyza knew that Asli had ended up getting himself killed only hours after being delivered to his destination. He did not dare wonder if she was still alive. A big part of him did not want to know.

As he explored his recollections, he tried to find the part that would help him now. Was it the attack of assassins in their hotel in Antakya or the ambush outside of Latakia? Nothing had gone smoothly for them, tracking Asli had dragged them through the slums of the city as well as the desolate and dangerous hills along the border. Ranger tried to think hard about every aspect of their search for Asli. He could feel it, just out of his reach, in the shadows of his memory. Just as he got close to grasping the answer he sought, a crash disrupted the hush of the comm room. With his thoughts suddenly interrupted, Ranger moved quickly out into the hall, following the noise. He saw the overturned chair, and immediately took in all the details of the scene that he found. Time for contemplation was over. The meeting was going to start early. Their visitors were here. Now. He had no idea what had happened that resulted in what he was now looking at. Tank was holding Francis Turner by his arm dragging him toward the conference room. DJ Miller was sprawled out on the floor near the chair that she had obviously tipped over in her fall. Cal was by her side, ready to pull her to her feet. And Lester was about to grab John Smith who had Stephanie up against the wall, face first, her arm twisted up behind her back, between them.

"What the hell," Ranger growled. Instantly, all eyes in the room were on him.


	6. Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

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Stephanie slowly moved down the hallway, her shoulders slightly slumped as she fell behind Rodriguez, and Hector and Aaron, watching them with their heads together discussing the recent developments. Rodriguez was as worried about the birds as he was the mysterious people that would be here soon. Tank was also walking ahead of her, and he raised his hand in greeting to someone she could not see. She was not really paying very close attention to anyone, a million thoughts were going through her head. It was so unsettling, standing close to Ranger one minute and walking alone the next. The expectant butterflies she'd had before walking into his office were now lead weights in her stomach. Nothing felt right. She was nervous and almost feeling a bit depressed, and from somewhere there was a nebulous air of dread seeping in, surrounding her. She immediately put these feelings down to the disappointment that she felt when Ranger asked everyone to leave his office. Intellectually she understood that he needed to prepare for the meeting. After all, that was what all of this frantic searching for the past twelve hours or so had been about. She knew that's what it was, but it didn't make her feel any better. Emotionally, she was turning into a wreck. Getting sent out of the office had not set well with her. All Stephanie had wanted, all she had been waiting for, was to be with Ranger. Yes, she was worried about him. Of course, he wouldn't show it, but he was tired. She had seen the hint of fatigue in his eyes. He hid it from everyone else so well, but not from her. He seemed to let his guard down when he was around her. Not a lot, just long enough for her to see a glimpse of how he was really feeling. The worst part about all of this was that she could not do anything about it. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him. Soothe him. Her thoughts surprised her a little. Comforting Ranger that way would definitely be a drastic change to their current relationship, but she could not deny that that it what she wanted more than anything else. They had so much to talk about. There was so much that she needed to say to him. But as things stood now, she couldn't even see him for hours, not until the meeting was over.

Her halting steps slowed further as she reached the open area of the comm room. It was louder and busier now that the early shift was getting started and the guys were settling in. The ding of the elevator had been a distant, but constant cacophony in the background. Now it dinged again and Stephanie saw Lester and Hal step through the opening doors and move into the room. With a detached interest she watched the guys greet each other, exchanging a few words before getting their day started. She knew that she should probably go home now. Her own shift did not start for a couple of hours and after the mostly sleepless night, her own fatigue was trying to set in. Hanging back even more, she could not seem to make herself go. If she allowed herself to put it into words, she would know that there was no way that she was going to leave before getting a chance to talk to Ranger or before seeing the three people that she had been focused on all night. Her curiosity would not allow her to leave before she addressed her concerns about who they were and why they were here.

Though she had hoped he would, Ranger had not told her what he knew about them. He had read through her reports, and had listened to everyone filling him in on the details that they were finding, but he had not shared his thoughts about why he thought they were coming here, or what he expected. Ranger had made no effort to increase security or make any special arrangements that would have indicated that he was concerned about them at all. So why was her gut telling her that things were not right. Why were her internal alarms going off? All she could do was wait, and Stephanie had never been any good at that. Finally she made the decision to wait this out in the break room. Maybe a hot cup of coffee would calm her and help her keep her fears at bay. As she turned and headed toward the break room, another ding sounded behind her. She could hear the doors of the elevator slowing opening. She turned around in time to see two men and a woman. They exited the elevator, and as if everything had switched to slow motion, she watched them head toward Ranger's office. Those alarms in her head exploded, blocking out everything but the panic that she felt. Her heart seemed to pound hard against the walls of her chest as instinct took over and she lunged at the man closest to her.

Did she see his gun? Did he look at her? Did she scream at him? Did she hit him? Stephanie couldn't remember. All she knew for certain was that she was intent on stopping him. On stopping all of them. Something deep inside warned her that everything was wrong. All wrong, but now she could not say why she knew that. Her efforts were futile. Before she could even blink, everyone in the room was in motion. In excruciatingly painful detail, she saw herself as she rushed at Mr. Smith. She saw her arm lift, her hand open, ready to stop him. She saw his face, and his reaction shocked her. He was not menacing or threatening. He seemed surprised, and he defended himself, and the others, from her. As he grabbed her outstretched arm, he spun her around in a move so swift and smooth that it was unmistakably the result of extensive military training. Now it was her turn to be surprised. She gasped and frantically looked around. Stephanie was acutely aware of what everyone around her was doing. Responding to her impulsive action, Tank had grabbed Mr. Turner, and was holding on to him tight, as he pulled him away from the melee. Hal had attempted to grab Miss Miller in a similar manner, but she ducked his grasp and tripped in her effort to get away from him. She slammed into a chair sending it, and her, crashing to the floor.

In a split second, Stephanie was up against the wall. Her cheek pressed hard against the smooth, cool surface. She could see things as they happened and the realization hit her all at once. This was her fault. If she hadn't been lost in her own thoughts and fears, bringing up all kinds of suspicions and speculations, she wouldn't have assaulted Smith, and none of the guys would have responded the way they did to the other two guests. Stephanie felt horrible. The pain of her arm had not registered yet. Embarrassment and regret were battling for equal attention. What had she done?

Her humiliation was complete when she heard Ranger yell. Her eyes flew open to see him, and she briefly caught his glance. The slow motion effect ended abruptly and Stephanie was suddenly lost in the the ruckus still going on around her. In a blur, she watched as Tank and Cal nodded at Ranger and disappeared down the hall with Turner and Miller. Ranger was moving fast, staring at whoever was behind her. She saw the look on his face, only for a second. That was all she had before her eyes slammed shut and she cried out in agony. Her twisted arm was yanked sharply, simultaneously sending bursts of sharp pains down through her hand and up into her shoulder. Lester and Ranger were angrily shouting behind her and suddenly Smith was jerked back, pulling her with him before he let her go and she went flying toward the floor. She kept her eyes closed and tried to brace herself for the impact that she knew she couldn't stop. Miraculously, it didn't happen. Arms circled around her just before she would have hit. Stephanie didn't have to open her eyes to know who had saved her from a painful face-plant into the carpet. Instantly, her own arms flung around Ranger as he held her tightly against him.

"Babe. Are you okay?" he asked. Stephanie melted as she felt his lips move near her ear. She nodded and burrowed even deeper into his embrace. She wanted to stay like this forever, safe in his arms. But she knew that she had to tell him what had just happened. How was she going to explain this to him?

"Ranger," she started to say, pulling back. He did not let her go, and that battle between staying safe in his arms or admitting that her actions had caused all of this, waged even more fiercely in her brain.

She nodded again, she did not look at him, her head hung down as she tried to find the words that she could say to him now. She had ruined everything. She knew she had. Any strategy he may have had in dealing with these visitors had now been shot to hell. Stephanie felt so bad that it took several long, horrible, agonizing minutes before she let that single word sink in. Strategy. What kind of strategy had they had to show up here unannounced two hours early? Had they planned on taking everyone by surprise? Would they have had some kind of advantage over Ranger with this kind of ploy? The implications were there if she could only work them all out in her mind. Slowly she raised her head and looked up into his eyes.

"Ranger," she said again, her voice barely audible. "Why are they here already?"

Relief poured through her as a smile touched the corners of his lips. Suddenly she felt more foolish than shamed. Ranger was doing that mind reading thing again. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

"We will let them wait and give them a chance to cool off for a while," he told her, turning her back toward his office and gently guiding her down the hall. He did not say anything else until they were inside the office and he had pulled the door closed. Then he turned to her and let her see the full effect of his smile, and the gleam in his eyes.

"What?" she asked. "What are we going to do, are you just going to leave them sitting in the conference room, alone?"

Instead of taking his seat at his desk, Ranger settled into the small leather couch on the other side of the room, indicating that she should sit next to him. His arms snaked around her as she sat down. He chuckled, the vibration of it teased her neck, and she lost all power to think for a full minute. Again he read her mind, taking a moment to hold her close before he started to answer her question.

"The guys are standing guard over them now," he said. "Nothing will happen to them."

Stephanie turned to look at him. What was he saying? Her eyes showed her confusion. 'Nothing will happen to _them_?' Why had Ranger put it that way? Shouldn't he be saying 'nothing will happen to _us_?' She tilted her head to the side, thinking. She shook her head slightly. What huge part of the picture was she missing here?

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	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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Tank stood outside of the conference room, phone in hand, and nodded as he listened. He had a good view of all three occupants in the room and had just reported their status to Ranger. Tank had to smile when he was told that the meeting was going to be delayed for an hour. Stephanie seemed really shaken up after that attack, and he had no doubt that she could use some of Ranger's _help_ for a while. It was about damn time, if you asked him. Tank had known that Ranger had some deep feelings for Stephanie, but for years he had been avoiding them. He had also suspected that Stephanie felt the same about Ranger, and it had puzzled Tank to see her bouncing back to Joe Morelli time after time. After his talks with Ranger over the past week, and now this latest development, Tank was hopeful that things were about to change for Ranger and Stephanie.

Inside of the room, Mr Turner stood and started pacing. Tank could see that he was on edge, and he couldn't blame him. The events that happened this morning could do that to a person. Miss Miller watched Turner with a sad look. And Smith seemed to be ignoring them both. With his eyes still on them, Tank put the phone in his pocket. Then he motioned to Lester to remain on guard duty with Hal, and he walked down the hall. It seemed that Ella was right, again. How did she always do that? She had wanted to bring in some water and perhaps coffee and something to eat to their guests. He had told her no before, when he thought that they might only be waiting for half an hour or so. But it had already been that long, and they certainly had the time for it now, with another hour ahead of them to wait. He was just going to have to concede that Ella's hospitality might be appreciated, in more ways than one. After watching their guests, over the last thirty minutes, Tank was convinced that, no matter what they may have thought, these three people were strangers. Far from being a team sent here to meet with Ranger, Tank could see that their body language told a different story. This day just kept getting stranger and stranger.

SHE WANTED to ask questions. She most definitely wanted the answers, but Stephanie was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. While she was annoyed with herself about it, she had to admit that she was tired. The combination of sleep deprivation, an adrenaline crash, and the feel of Ranger's arms around her, worked as a most potent sedative. With all the crazy going on, Stephanie thought that there was no way she could get any rest, and she found it incredible that she could actually fall asleep. But here she was, dropping off, after being lulled into the most amazing feeling of comfort that she had ever experienced. Her last thoughts before drifting off included the wonderful realization that while everything had felt so wrong before. Nothing could feel more right that being here with Ranger. A smile touched her lips as her head fell back onto his shoulder and her eyes closed in blissful slumber.

Ranger felt her melting in his arms. It all been too much for her and Stephanie was falling asleep. He was sure that she needed it, attacking someone did that to a person. That brought a smile to his lips. She had wanted to protect him. Somehow she had convinced herself that these people could be a danger to him, and she had wanted to stop them from reaching his office. Her obvious discomfort when she had admitted this to him revealed the depths of her feelings, and it touched him. Now he had what he had been wanting for so long. And he was having some thoughts of his own, much in the same vein as Stephanie. It felt so right to be here with her in his arms. The time had come for him to stop avoiding the relationship that he had always wanted with Stephanie. Ranger had been giving it a lot of serious reflection lately. Over the years he had kicked himself countless times over the stupid move he had made. Sending Stephanie back to Morelli, after the most perfect night he had ever had, rated right up at the top of his list of the stupidest things he had ever done. In the end, all it had done was start a miserable cycle of an off and on relationship between them. One that had frustrated everyone concerned. It had been the most painful experience he had ever had, to watch her be hurt every time they split up. He knew that he was the one to blame for the whole thing. Stephanie did not want to be with Joe, how many times had she shown both of them that simple fact through her actions. But Ranger now understood that he had never stepped up to give her the alternative that she needed. No, instead he kept encouraging her to go back to Morelli. His own fears had been getting in the way for much too long. He needed her. He loved her. Now it was the time to let her know that.

If Stephanie's behavior this morning was any indication, he could believe that she felt the same way about him. Another smile formed and stayed on his lips. Updating their relationship status was one thing, but there was something else that he knew she needed. When she woke, he would share the insight that he had found by investigating her questions. "How can someone hide their life history like that?" she had asked. Smith had no links to his life before his appearance twelve years ago. That was just not possible and Stephanie had been kicking herself all night for not being able to break through and find the thread that would lead her to who he really was. Her intensity had impressed him, and made Ranger start going down new pathways in his own thoughts to find the answer. It had been so close, he had almost reached it when the altercation had happened. Now he was pretty sure that he had figured out a big piece of the puzzle. It had been the general himself who had inadvertently given him the clue he needed.

"You won't know what we don't want you to know until we want you to know it!" the old man had grumbled. Ranger had dismissed his bloviating as just more posturing by the general ,until Stephanie had said nearly the same thing in her frustration over Smith's past. That was it, that was the key he had been looking for. Ranger had remembered something from that last mission. Though their focus had been on Asli, their contact, Beyza, had been talking about some other people that she was worried about. She thought that there was someone infiltrating the most profitable industry in her country. Her group of patriots believed that there could be a disaster,big enough to ruin her country, if Asli turned his focus to the new methods being researched for horizontal drilling. The tools being developed for the process could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Her people had been covertly protecting a small group of geophysicists and petroleum engineers that had been commissioned by the government to prepare feasibility studies for the next phase of oil production that they needed. Ranger had not seen these men, it was not relevant to their mission. That is probably why it had taken so long to recall the details that he had now been seeking. It had simply been part of a discussion they'd had, one that had been interrupted by the attack in the hotel. Now that connection was starting to make sense. He let those details, long forgotten, come back to mind. The explosion at the hotel, that his team had thought was directed at Beyza, had been discovered later to be part of a plot against some special government workers visiting that part of the country. To be exact, against a small group of scientists in the petroleum industry. That could not be a coincidence. It would be time to have another nice little chat with the general real soon. But not until after he had a chance to talk to his visitors. Ranger knew that the early arrival ploy was taken directly out of the general's playbook. "Keep'um guessing" isn't that what he always liked to say?

While the names and basic information about the three people in question had been given freely, the reason behind their arrival in Trenton had not. His recent conversations with General Kinkaid had revealed that he was asking for a favor. Not directly, of course, the general never did that. But it explained the nervousness he had been unable to disguise. As agitated as Kinkaid had seemed, Ranger knew that this was much more important than he had let on. So what had happened that had set these plans in motion? There were still plenty of questions to ask, but Ranger was looking forward to giving Stephanie some of the answers that she needed.

While she slept, Ranger let Turner, Miller and Smith sit it out and wait for him. It was only slightly a power play on his part to establish that he was running this current operation. Even if it was a favor to the general, they needed to understand one another if they were to work with each other. It was going to be interesting to see what their side of the story was. By twisting his wrist slightly, he looked at his watch. It had been nearly an hour now. It was time to go in and talk to his visitors. He hated waking Stephanie, but he knew that there was no way she wanted to miss out on this. Shaking her slightly, Ranger kissed her cheek, eliciting a moan from her that nearly did him in.

"Babe," his hoarse whisper exposed his reaction to her, and he had to take a deep breath to regain some of his composure.

"Mmmhmm, she responded, her eye fluttering open. Stephanie turned to see Ranger's face. His smile melted her and she wanted to cuddle back into his arms, she had never slept so well in her entire life. Her own smile lit her face as she let herself agree that this was something that she could definitely get used to. She slowly sat up and Ranger stood, extending his hand to help her stand.

In the next few minutes, she watched as he pulled up the video feed of the conference room on his computer. Ranger let her know that she could watch the meeting from here. She would be able to see and hear everything. Stephanie sat in the big leather chair. This was perfect. She had wanted to be part of this, but there was no way she wanted to see Smith again for a long time.

"Thanks," she whispered, looking up at him. Ranger kissed her on the cheek and winked at her.

"Let the games begin," he said. Ranger looked at her, once again, from the doorway. He smiled and then disappeared down the hall.

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	8. Chapter 8

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Chapter 8

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"Confirmed," Woody said, finally turning off the equipment and walking out of the room. His report was finished and delivered, but he still didn't understand what it was that he had seen on the hours of security footage that he had been skimming through. He could say that three separate taxi cabs had left three people at three different spots near the back of the RangeMan building. The timing was so precise that all three of these people met at the entrance to the parking garage. They all then proceeded to deliberately climb over the lowered gate and move to the elevators, where they had to identify themselves to the rangeman on duty. None of them hesitated, it was as if they knew exactly what to do to. Woody had been amazed at the certainty of their actions. He knew that this footage was a key to the mystery surrounding the recent visitors. But he didn't have the answers quite yet. He had done what he was asked, and that was the end of his assignment. Woody had been as thorough as he could be, accessing the security camera footage from three different neighboring buildings to get the complete picture. The question that none of his research could answer was why? These were the three people that Ranger was expecting, why didn't they go to the front entrance? Junior would have been ready to admit them there, it would have been much more logical? For that matter, why did they arrive in separate taxis? Weren't they a team, of sorts? That is what they had been led to believe. Woody shrugged his shoulders slightly and closed the door. At least he was done now.

Tank never entered the room where the guests were waiting. After Ella left, he kept his position outside of the conference room and observed them from behind the two way mirrored panel in the door. He watched each of them, intrigued at the dynamics playing out between them. Smith was trying to remain aloof, separate from the others. He stared into his coffee cup a lot, but never drank any, and looked at them with mostly his peripheral vision. Tank noticed the man's hidden interest in his companions. As Smith covertly eyed them, he seemed to pay close attention to how sympathetic Miss Miller seemed to be to Mr. Turner. Although she had taken on the task of handing out the cups of coffee that Ella left for them, she had only offered the tray of fruit to Turner. After Turner had made his selection, she had chosen to leave the tray close to Smith, but made no effort to speak to him. Though he said nothing, Tank could tell that Smith was bothered by this. Tank's, trained eye didn't miss much at all. He could only imagine what was going through Smith's mind. Miller was an attractive woman. That the older gentleman seemed to garner her attention, and keep her focused on him seemed to be a source of annoyance to poor Smith. Tank surmised that the younger man may have thought that the young lady would be inclined to seek out the person more her own age. What he didn't seem to realize, much to Tank's amusement, was that Smith had forgotten the fact that he was actively trying to ignore her. Of course she was now avoiding him as well. It did not take a genius to know that no woman would appreciate that kind of behavior. Tank smiled and made mental notes of his observations. Smith was actually jealous, as hard as he tried to hide his reactions, it was there in his posture, in the glint in his eyes. Never try to fool a pro, Tank could see all of the signs.

Suddenly Turner stopped by the door and stared out of the window. Tank knew that he could not see him, but it was unnerving all the same and he involuntarily took a small step back. A muffled chuckle behind him had Tank growling.

"Leave it alone Santos," he said, as he turned to face the man in question. Tank knew that Lester Santos was still on duty and would be joining him to watch the visitors, it had been just a matter of time before he got here. The scuffle with Stephanie, earlier, had earned him a trip to the infirmary to get his injuries taken care of. He was back now, complete with a badge of courage or two. A bandage on his jaw covered a few stitches, and some white tape wrapped around his wrist suggested other minor damage. Souvenirs of Smith's take down. Santos appeared to be recovering nicely and he moved into place near the window to look in.

"Go take a few minutes to rest," Lester said without looking at him. Tank knew it was true that he had not slept in a very long time, but he wasn't sure he wanted to now. He did not move, and again without looking at him, Lester delivered the only threat that would make Tank comply.

"I am instructed to tell Ella that you need some help," Lester said, hiding a smile. "Should I call her in now?"

"I'll be back in thirty minutes," Tank said immediately as he turned and moved quickly down the hall to his office. He did not take a breath until he was inside, with the door firmly closed. He liked Ella, and would never admit to being afraid of her. She took care of the men working here at RangeMan and she took that job very seriously. In this case, he knew that it would mean that she would bring in some of her special valerian tea blend. A shudder rippled through him as he thought of that nasty tea. She told them that she combined the powerful valerian leaves with chamomile and lemon balm to make it taste good, but she didn't seem to realize that the additions never really helped much. The hot drink, that she brewed as sleep aid, tasted awful. It was a much better idea to avoid the whole thing by making the effort to get some rest on his own terms.

Lester was here now for the observations. In thirty minutes, they would meet with Ranger and have a brief discussion about the trio before the meeting began. It was Lester's turn, now, to be the eyes and ears, Tank trusted him to be as attentive as he had been. He settled into the couch his long legs propped on the armrest. Using the techniques he had developed through his years of military service, Tank was asleep in only minutes. His internal clock, set for the half hour that he had allotted himself, would wake him when he was done.

Ranger moved into the conference room, the eyes of his guests taking in his stealthy movements. Walking to the far end of the room, he finally pulled out a chair and sat down. Wordlessly, the others sat as well. It was time to begin. Smith lifted his gaze to Ranger. The information that he had been given about this man made him more than a bit curious. Though he had no doubt that Ranger was capable of helping him, he had to wonder why he would. It had been a while since he had retired, and Smith had to admit that if he had been in Ranger's shoes, he would probably tell the general to get lost if he had come to him with this assignment. Smith, had assumed the role of leader of this unusual team, at least in his own mind. He had never spoken to Turner or Miller. He had never even really met them before they came to the appointed place today. Still, with his experience, he figured that he should be the spokesperson for the group. Opening his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by Turner.

"We have a limited amount of time to move on this," Turner said. Smith's head swung in Turner's direction and he glared at him. The old man had some nerve blurting out like that. Turner lowered his head under the scrutiny. He did not want to be here, and yet it was his own fault that he was. Just a few months ago, he had been enjoying his retirement. A few acres of beachfront property in exotic Nicosia, a small boat and he had been the happiest man on the face of the planet. Of course, he knew that as beautiful as it was, his beach was not in the most stable region of the world, but the property had been in his family for generations and he was determined to enjoy it. Now he kicked himself for thinking that he could adopt the attitude live and let live. Hoping that if he didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother him, had been rather naive. He knew that now. The terrorists in this world did not care who they destroyed. They did not let anyone get in their way. He was grateful for the protection that the Americans had given him when the terrorists tried to claim his home as a base of operations. But in the end, his place was still being used. With his permission this time, but used all the same because it was in such a favorable strategic spot for this current operation. The general had come himself to explain the situation to him. Turner remembered that meeting vividly. It had not been the first time that they had met. Neither experience had been all that pleasant. Their first meeting, in the small office in an undisclosed location, had not been authorized. Analysts worked alone. They had to, for the sake of impartiality. That was their job. That was Turner's job, and he was good at it. When the general had knocked down his door and stormed into his office, it had made quite an impression on him. Having the practically the same scenario play out in his own home did not sit well with Turner. But all the same, he knew that this situation could not be avoided, and he agreed to cooperate. No, he was not a forceful man, and no, he had no real military experience of his own, but he hated feeling helpless like he did now. And he was really beginning to hate this Smith guy. But he would not fight him right now. It was in everyone's interest to let Smith take over, and all Turner wanted was for this whole thing to be over.

Ranger watched their interaction with interest. It was clear that Turner was knowledgeable about the operation. He should be, it was taking place on his property. His attention turned to Smith. Ranger hid his amusement as the man talked. He was definitely well trained in military covert operations. Ranger had enough experience with men like Smith to see that while he would be precise and to the point with members of a black-op team, he could be vague and ambiguous with civilians. He would, and rightly so, determine that anyone outside the military need not know the details. It would not do them any good, and in fact, could put them in danger. So Ranger listened as Smith spoke and revealed nothing. He was quite good. After a few minutes, however, Miller had had enough. Her training would have led her to the same conclusions about Smith that Ranger had had. She stood abruptly, her eyes sweeping the room, looking at each of the men. Ranger could tell that, like Turner, she did not want to be here. She was much too professional to let it be overly obvious, but it was there all the same. The room was silent while she stood. Everyone waiting to see what she had to say. Everyone but Smith. He looked like he was about to interrupt her, as he had Turner. Ranger did not have to wonder what her reaction would be to that kind of intimidation. She was full military, and she would not back down. Smith was in for a surprise if he tried anything like that now.

In the office down the hall, Stephanie was watching. Her laptop was now set up next to Ranger's computer. Her fingers tapped the keys, her search for answers was not over, not by a long shot. Seeing Miller in person had stuck Stephanie. Unlike her photos, DJ Miller had a quality about her that triggered some more questions. Stephanie was now more determined than ever to find out her secret.

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	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

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Catching her reflection in the mirrored window of the door, DJ's breath caught in her throat. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. Seeing herself always seemed to do this to her. After three years, DJ was still not used to her new look. The injuries in the crash had left them no choice but to do some extensive plastic surgery. She had been nearly done with her stay, in that hospital in Germany, before she ever saw the results. She got that same shock all over again every time she looked in a mirror. "I still have the same eyes," she would remind herself. They were bright blue, like her father's. And she had her mother's delicate chin. But that was where the familiar features ended. Her cheekbones were now much more pronounced. Her nose was smooth and perfect. She had lost the bump from when she'd broken it, and somehow she missed that reminder of the soccer game she had played in high school. Miller closed her eyes for a moment to re-focus. To most of the men watching, her hesitation had been barely noticeable.

In another part of the building, someone did notice. He sat forward, almost holding his breath. She seemed so sad in that moment, but he could see that she was brave. She had acted, ready to make her stand. Aaron watched from the link he and Hector had set up in Hector's office. Like Stephanie, Aaron had noticed that there was something undefinable about DJ Miller. He had seen it in her eyes. She was fierce, and beautiful, and strangely vulnerable, and he had been drawn to her the moment he had seen her walk out of the elevator. Aaron had been there when Stephanie attacked Smith, and it still tore at him that he had not been close enough to catch DJ when she fell. It was unusual for him to be affected like this, by someone he had not even met. But he would be the first one to admit that she had a strange hold on him, and he did not want her to let go. He adjusted the angle of the camera to see her face as she held everyone's attention.

Her eyes took in each of the men seated at the table. Ranger was looking at her like he knew something that she didn't. He probably did. It was her experience that the general only shared what he thought you needed to know. So many times he was the only one who saw the whole picture, and while she hated being kept in the dark, she had seen first hand that having limited knowledge actually saved people's lives. Turner was one of those people, and he knew it. He was fine with it, he didn't want to know anything.

Smith was staring at her, his expression unreadable. What she knew about him had her concerned. He was used to being in charge and knowing more than anyone else. But that was not his role this time. He wasn't going to like that. Smith, she knew, was a man that everyone loved to hate. He played his role well, he didn't need to be liked. Just respected. And she knew that he deserved it. Though he didn't know it, she and Smith had been through the same thing, they had both suffered injuries that had completely changed them. In both instances, the general had taken advantage of their situations. He had turned them into what he needed them to be. In her case, she had mostly disappeared. Except in a few military records, her mistaken death in Iowa had let her remain under the radar. Smith's situation was much more intricate. He had no ties to the person he had once been. With help from the general, he started from scratch. The biggest difference between them, though, was that Smith wanted the change. DJ didn't.

Miller nodded at Tank and Lester who were both standing just inside the room. She took their stance to indicate that they were in full protection mode and she was grateful for the security. That was why they were all here. No matter what Turner or Smith thought, their assignment was going to take a different turn from hers. General Kinkaid had other plans for them. As much as Smith may have wanted to, he was not to be involved in the attack the general was planning against the terrorist group in Nicosia. Neither was Turner. She was glad that her own role would take her back to Nicosia with the chosen team. To be hidden away, even under orders, had never been her first choice. She had been hiding long enough. Between the assignments Kinkaid had sent her on, she had to stay out of sight, and she always hated every minute of it. Since her injuries and recovery in Germany, her determination to rid the world of the evil had grown ever stronger. Downtime only made her restless. She would be out there fighting them every day, if they would let her. Unfortunately Miller knew all too well that she'd had to prove herself, over and over again, before they would let her go on another mission. She was always determined to show them that she was the best they had. She had done just that, many times over. It seemed that it was never enough. She did try to see their point of view. The fact that her family was gone now, made her look like a loose cannon to the powers that be. The general, however, knew better. No, she did not have a death wish, but her own survival on any mission was not as important as achieving their objectives. The general knew that too. DJ Miller was prepared to lay down her life if needs be. With surprising compassion, Kinkaid had made it known that this trait, while usually very honorable and admirable, was not what was needed from her. She knew that. Deep inside she knew that. Every time she looked in the mirror she tried to remind herself that it was true. He had faith in her, so, no matter how many demons of her own she had to fight, she understood that she was vital to this operation. From beginning to end. Her skills and knowledge would get them into their destination. The surprise factor would play into their favor giving them the advantage they might need. Ranger's team would take out the threat and she would be there to get them back out of harms way. Now if she could just let everyone here understand how important this assignment was.

Stephanie's eyes were now glued to Miss DJ Miller. She, like everyone else watching, had held her breath waiting to hear what she had to say. They were not disappointed. In a voice, raspy with the ravages left from her injuries, she spoke clearly.

"Gentlemen," she said, pulling out a map and flattening it on the table. "You know as much about the area in question as I do." Her finger touched the map. "We need to be there, in position, in twelve hours."

As soon as she said those words, Miller amended them in her mind. "We" were not going anywhere. Turner and Smith would have no part in the operation. They were too well known in the region. Their presence could cause more problems than they could solve. She knew that Turner was willing to understand that and accept the protection he was seeking at RangeMan. Smith, would have a harder time letting go of his control. In the end, however, she knew it would be the general's orders that he would have to follow. She glanced over at Smith. His jaw was set, and there was fire in his eyes, he knew. She nodded and turned her attention to Ranger.

Here it comes, Ranger thought, here comes the reason that they are here. Kinkaid had not been very specific about the expectations for this mission, especially the part about who he wanted to involve in it. Ranger had been fairly certain that the protection that the general was asking for, for his little team, was not going to be as simple as keeping them all here in a secure location. It would have been too easy that way, and the general never did easy. 'Damn it' he thought. Sometimes he hated it when he was always right. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he and his team were the logical choice to help out in this operation.

"Ranger," she looked up at him, eyes never wavering, but pleading all the same. "Can we count on you and your men?" she asked simply. DJ knew that the general had given Ranger enough details about the objectives that he would know that they were the right ones to go. Now she needed it to be their decision to do it.

Miller had figured that her question would get a strong reaction. She had expected it. The immediate, low roar of the men's voices let her know she was right. It was the same kind of rumble that she heard in the committee meetings when Kinkaid requested her for another mission. They didn't want to trust her, no matter how many times she had proven them wrong. Now, three years later, she knew that they had nothing to hold over her. The general had won out again, and she was on the team. No matter what they thought about her, Miller would do her job. And in a thought that she only shared with herself, she knew that she would get her revenge. She was not as cold as she looked. Inside she was raw with anger, with hurt, with grief. The only thing keeping her going was the hope that one day she would stop the bastards who had done this to her, to her family. This had been years in the making, and now that the time was right, she would see to it that they paid.

Stephanie was stunned with Miller's statement. Who was going to be in position in twelve hours? What area was she talking about? Stephanie moved over to Ranger's computer. Her laptop would find all kinds of information, but not what she needed to know now. What she was looking for would be hidden under layers of protection. While her computer skills had drastically improved since she started working for RangeMan, she did not consider herself an expert when it came to breaking through people's security. She usually left that stuff to Hector and Rodriguez, but she had been observant and attentive when she saw them do it. Now she only hoped that she could break into Ranger's system and find what she was after. At the very least, she was going to give it her best shot. A few agonizing, and anxious minutes later, she had accessed Ranger's latest messages from General Kinkaind. It only took a moment to skim the words to know what was happening. Miller was taking them back to Turkey.

Stephanie was was temporarily paralyzed, unable to breathe when she understood what was being requested from Ranger and his team. He was going to have to leave, immediately. They were going to drop them off in some god forsaken location where he would be in danger every second that they were there. Her instincts had been right about Smith, and Miller. They were going to put Ranger in a dangerous situation, but she would have had no idea that it could be as big as this. She wanted to scream, or punch something. There were so many things that she wanted to say to Ranger, and now they were going to have to wait. It killed her to think that she had wasted so much time. In her heart she had known, since the day she had met him, that she would never be the same without him in her life. Now he was leaving again, without hearing her say all the things that she had wanted to say to him for so long.

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	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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It seemed like a lifetime ago that Stephanie had been staring at the information she'd found on Ranger's computer. A lifetime ago when she had discovered the plans that would take Ranger away from her. A lifetime since she realized that she may have waited too long. DJ Miller's announcement had set everything in motion, throwing Stephanie's life into turmoil. It had been like watching a bad movie in slow motion. Stephanie read and re-read the messages from General Kinkaid. Their meaning sinking deeper and deeper into her heart. Miller's words confirmed what she had read, and her heart dropped into her stomach. In disgust, she turned off his computer and sat back, stunned. From the little she could find out, about the operation that was about to start, Stephanie had plenty of fuel for her imagination. Her thoughts tortured her by taking her mind through all of the worst case scenarios she could think of, dragging her down further and further into despair. Frozen with fear, she remained sitting there in agony until Ranger came back to the office. She remembered standing and rushing to him. Her arms circled him desperately as he held her close, and she did not want to let him go. He seemed to feel the same, holding her tight while they talked. They did not have much time. A whirlwind of activity swirled around them as the preparations to leave were under way. Still, Ranger did not let her go. Not until the last possible minute.

They were gone now, and Stephanie felt empty inside. She stood in the garage, immobilized with the numbness that had set in. She had watched the caravan of black trucks as it left, taking Ranger and the team away to the airfield to catch their plane. Unwilling to let her tears be seen while he was still here, Stephanie had put on a brave face for Ranger. Now those tears could not be stopped, they streamed down her face, soaking her shirt. Ella hovered, keeping close in case Stephanie needed her, and it was a long time before she guided her back into the building.

AARON grasped his duffle bag and followed the team up the stairs and past the cockpit. Trying not to stare, he looked around the unexpected luxury, and he contemplated just how he came to be on this private plane. He felt lucky to be on the team, but he would have it no other way. The moment Ranger's meeting had ended, earlier, he had wasted no time. Hector was not happy about Aaron's decision, but he supported him, going with him to help him make his case. It was not usual for the men to volunteer for the special op teams. Normally they took the assignments they were given and followed them. So Tank was surprised when Aaron asked to go with them. Insisted, really. He had no intention of taking no for an answer. It had, indeed, been a no that Tank had given him at first. But Aaron did not accept it. Now a small smile turned up the corners of his mouth. It had been a fight to get this position, and it had been DJ Miller herself who had given him the clearance he needed in the end. She could use some good tech support, she said. It was exactly what he had wanted to hear, and Aaron intended to be so much more than that to her before this was all over. Taking a seat toward the back of the plane, he settled into the comfortable leather chair and leaned his head back. Everyone was supposed to take the first few hours of the flight to get some rest before they were to be briefed on the mission. He may have been new at RangeMan, and this may have been the first mission he had been on, but even Aaron knew that this procedure was all backwards. Rushing into a situation without complete details was not done. Hector had been teaching Aaron how to design and maintain programs that the teams used to gather their intel from every source they could find. It was what Aaron was good at, what he loved to do. All things considered, he was usually content to be the man behind the scenes making sure that the information could be found. So he could see, more than anyone, just how backwards his own actions had been as well. Knowing what you were getting yourself into should always be the first step, but he had gone and inserted himself into this assignment without knowing a thing about it. There was nothing else he could do. Watching her on the small screen, he had seen DJ's face, and like the first time he had laid his eyes on her, he knew he had to be near her. He couldn't deny what he felt, even if it made no sense at all. He had yet to even personally meet her, but he could not let her go on this operation alone. While he had been sitting there, watching her from Hectors office, Aaron had made some startling revelations. Most important being the realization that DJ needed him. He could see in her eyes that she was driven by a force that he did not understand, that maybe she didn't even acknowledge, but it was there and he was afraid of what it could do to her. Her dedication to this cause was admirable, but there was something more. Aaron could not have known about her injuries, ore her need for revenge. He simply knew she could use someone watching her back. Now, in the dim lights of the plane, he nodded his head slightly, as if confirming his determination to watch over her. Seated in the front, DJ was sitting in a chair that was facing him, and Aaron kept his gaze on her. She needed someone, and he wanted it to be him. There was absolutely no way he was not going to be here, to help the team, to help DJ Miller.

NOW that they were in the air, and the team had settled in, Ranger took out his cell phone and called the number he had been given. It turned out to be a private line for the General, instead of his office number, and Ranger was only mildly surprised. He knew that there had to be a good reason for the clandestine messages and strange phone conversations over the past twelve hours. He had not been given the whole picture yet, but now that he had agreed to help out, he intended to be filled in on all the details that had been missing.

"Talk to me," he simply said, and waited for Kinkaid's explanation.

In the middle of a huge park in Washington DC, General Kinkaid was standing at the edge of a pond, eyeing the surrounding area suspiciously. His phone was supposed to be secure, and he trusted that it was. But that did not keep him from using every precaution that he knew of to insure secrecy in this conversation with Ranger. He maintained his close proximity to the pond, he kept his hand covering his mouth, he never stopped his constant pacing. He did everything that he had ever heard of to keep from having his call intercepted. The man was paranoid and Ranger had to assure him, several times, that he was using his own encryption techniques as well. Finally, the general was satisfied and started talking. Ranger was concerned to learn that he was the only person that Kinkaid trusted right now. There was a leak in his organization, and he was trying to find out who it was. The general was convinced that the only way he could find the leak was to spread the intel he was using between everyone under his command. Some of it would be real, some would not. But no one person, outside of Ranger and his team, would be privy to all of the information. This way he could follow the trails of betrayal right back to who he gave the specific details to. Of course, he could have found his leak without Ranger's help. It was the timing of this mission that complicated everything.

Ranger knew that Smith had been in contact with Turner in Nicosia. The men had crossed paths several times since Turner retired. When the terrorist group invaded his property, Smith worked with Turner to gather specific details about their objectives and he knew it was the perfect opportunity to eliminate them before they could completely disrupt the oil industry in the region. Unfortunately, Kinkaid could not wait for his experiment to be complete before he addressed this threat. Smith did as much as he could, but his position with the governments in the area, made him a target. Personally meeting with key civilian leaders would only put them all at risk, and that was quite simply unacceptable. They needed to continue to work with these citizen groups, exposing them would not be good for anyone. Especially now that death threats against Smith were coming in regularly. Keeping him at RangeMan was the best thing for Smith, and pulling Ranger in was the general's only alternative. It had been Ranger's team that had developed relationships with Beyza, and her people, who said that they would be willing to cooperate again, but only with the men that they trusted.

Listening carefully, Ranger noted all of the information that he was finally getting from the general. He had turned up the volume of his phone, and angling it away from his ear allowed Tank to also hear the conversation. Every so often, both Tank and Ranger would scowl, or they would nod their heads in agreement. The plans, that had been made for this mission, were in motion, and Ranger could see that their window of opportunity was very small. It was no wonder that Miller was in such a hurry. Ranger could see that she knew more of the details than anyone else. A definite indication that Kinkaid wanted her involved. The fact that the general seemed to trust her, especially in light of his current personnel problems, gave Ranger confidence to work with her. Her experience, and her knowledge of the region was invaluable to the team. He just wished that he could quiet the tiny voice of caution in the back of his mind. She had had her accident there. What was going to happen to DJ Miller when she was back in the same place, among the same people that had caused her so much pain?


	11. Chapter 11

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Chapter 11

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"Please. Stay here, Babe."

Ranger had whispered the words in her ear only moments before he had to leave. Stephanie knew that he was worried that she would not be safe if she left the building, but there had been no time for him to explain why. Now, hours later, Stephanie was trying to decide what to do. What was going on? She trusted that he was worried about her, but she could not imagine how she could be in any harm. Why would anyone be after her? Who even knew who she was? The people who needed protection were here, and she didn't think that she was one of them.

Still sitting at her desk, Stephanie had been trying to pretend that she could get some work done. All she had been able to do, however, was replay Ranger's words over and over in her mind. She had been blankly staring at the screen for an hour before admitting to herself, that it might be a good idea if she tried to get some rest. She just needed to decide where she was going to go. Rex was at home, she didn't want to leave him all alone, but Ranger had asked her to stay. He had even said please. That made her smile. He knew she had a hard time saying no to him when he did that.

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to stay. Besides, being here at RangeMan would allow her to feel a bit closer to Ranger, and would give her a chance to listen to any news there was about the team. So far there had been nothing to report. Not that she expected anything, they had not even reached their destination. She had looked it up. If they were going to Nicosia, like she had seen in the messages, they would not be there for hours yet. No one was going to know anything until they got there anyway, so she might as well try to get some badly needed sleep.

"Yeah, right!" she muttered as grabbed her purse and pushed her chair back. She knew full well that, as much as she knew she should, it was not going to be easy to make herself rest. Not until she knew that Ranger was going to be safe, and that could take days. The prospect of waiting, and wondering and worrying, filled her with dread. One thing that she knew for sure was that she did not want to be alone. Staying here would keep her surrounded by people who knew what was happening. She could really use that, but she was going to have to find Ella, to let her into an apartment.

Just as she stood, Stephanie was surprised to see Ella as she peeked around the corner and smiled at her.

"Hey, Stephanie," Ella said, as she took a step toward her. She held out her hand. "I was asked to give this to you." Placing the key fob into Stephanie's hand, she looked into her eyes. "It will be good to have you here," she said softly. "I will feel better too, knowing that you are safe."

Ella's comments surprised her, and Stephanie didn't know what to say. It was obvious that Ella knew a few things that she didn't, but she all of a sudden didn't want to ask about it. Not yet. Stephanie nodded at her and wrapped her fingers around the small keyring. It was apparent that Ranger had made arrangements for her stay. She wasn't going to refuse his offer.

"Thanks Ella," Stephanie said softly. Her emotions were very near the surface. She swallowed and looked up into Ella's eyes.

"Go on up when you are ready," Ella said. She patted her hand before she turned and walked down the hall.

Now that it was decided that she would stay, Stephanie knew that she should get that rest that she needed. It was time to at least try. As she gathered her things, she suddenly remembered that she had left the laptop in Rangers office. Thinking it might be a good idea to have it, she made her way to the office to pack it up.

Her hand reached out to close the lid, and the moment she touched it, the screen came back on with a flash of light and sharp beep. She was startled and almost jumped back, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Suddenly the apprehension she had been feeling all afternoon was replaced with the curiosity that had prompted her to continue looking into Miss DJ Miller.

Stephanie took a deep breath, she was surprised to see the page that was still open. Sinking into the chair, she started to read. This was the information that she had been searching for, just before Miss Miller had made the announcement that changed everything this morning. She had almost forgotten about the train of thought that had led her to look for this information, but one look at the report in front of her brought it all back to mind.

It had been tricky to even find these documents. Someone had hidden them well, filing them under a code name. Looking at it now, she was glad that she had followed her instincts. Anything this important was not going to be in the normal files, and it had proven to be just the challenge she had anticipated it would be. After trying every code name that she could think of, she had finally typed in _Phoenix, _just moments before Miller had spoken and Stephanie's attention had been torn from the laptop.

Now, here it was, that bit of information that she had been searching for. This was the report that showed the date of _Phoenix,_ or rather, DJ Miller's incident in Turkey. Stephanie was not sure if she should be surprised that it had happened two days before the family had died in Iowa. Debra Jean had never made it home. She had not been with her family when the accident happened. In light of what she had been discovering about Kinkaid and Smith in the past few hours, Stephanie had no trouble at all believing that there had been some influence in the mistaken identity of the woman who had been killed in the accident.

Of course, solving this piece of the puzzle only brought more questions than answers. The most glaring of which, to Stephanie, was whether Ranger could count on Miller during their mission. She had already found out that it had taken a year for her to recover, that was a huge ordeal. What if Miller was not emotionally over the the trauma from the accident? Wouldn't going back, to the same area where it had happened, bring back awful memories?

Stephanie lowered her head to her hands and tried to force the alarming thoughts from her mind. It had been a good three years since DJ's release from the hospital, surely that was enough time to heal and get over it. And the general wouldn't put her in harms way if she was not ready, would he?

Taking several deep breaths, Stephanie looked up and finished reading the report, searching for the answers to her questions. She found nothing that would help, so she shut down the computer and shoved it into the bag. All she could do now was keep a prayer in her heart that everything was going to be okay. Ranger had his team with him, thankfully, not everything depended on Miller. Stephanie would cling onto the hope that the guys would have Ranger's back, and that they would all come home soon.

ONE BY ONE the small panels on the windows in the cabin were pulled shut, making the airplane as dark as possible. Ranger watched with a wry smile. Controlling their environment when they could was always a good thing, but he knew that all of his men could sleep wherever and whenever they had the chance to do so. It was an important part of their training. He was no different, and now it was time for him to finally get the sleep he needed too. With one last look around, Ranger was about to put himself in sleep mode when he noticed Gutierrez in the back. At first he was startled, he hadn't expected to see the guy who worked with Hector, but he quickly remembered that Tank had mentioned that he would would be coming. Something about tech support.

Of course, his first thought was that he should have been sleeping, like the rest of the team. Ranger could have said something to him, but chose he not to. He figured that it was understandable, this was Gutierrez's first op. He could cut him a little slack. Then Ranger noticed that the man's eyes were intently trained on someone. Following the gaze, he was surprised to see that DJ Miller was in his line of sight. That was interesting.

It was not easy to read the expression on his face, like the rest of the men, he had been well trained to use a blank expression. So, maybe Gutierrez was curious about her. Ranger could understand that too, no one knew who she was before this morning, and the RangeMan teams had never worked with her before. Ranger shrugged, other than being an interesting observation, it did not seem to garner any kind of response. So he turned and settled into his seat, instantly falling asleep.

IT WAS NEARLY four in the afternoon before Joe Morelli had a break. The life of a detective was always unpredictable. Looking at his watch, he remembered that he needed to call Stephanie. They really did need to talk. Pulling out his cell phone, he punched the numbers, and was immediately annoyed that it went directly into voicemail. He had played that game all night, and he was not about to do it again now. He just did not have the time.

"Steph, call me. I'll be over tonight, we need to talk," he left the message for her and ended the call.

He would go past Pino's on his way to her place tonight. She was always in a good mood when she had her favorite food to eat. Plans made, he went back to work. They would get things worked out tonight. It was time to move forward, they both knew that. They had been apart long enough to know what they wanted to do next. There were so many things that he wanted to say to her. His attention was once again redirected to his job, and it wasn't until he stood outside her empty apartment that he started to really wonder what was going on with Stephanie right now.

A bit angry, he unlocked the door and walked in. Everything looked the same, so he knew that she still lived here, she just was no where to be seen. Joe heard a noise by the door and spun around expecting to see her walking in. To his surprise and disappointment, it was not Stephanie.

Dillon, the building super, looked seriously at the cop and cocked his head to one side. "You here to take care of the hamster?" he asked.

Joe's confused expression let Dillon know the answer to that question. He walked forward and passed Joe on his way to the kitchen. Picking up the cage, he turned and walked back to the door.

"I was asked to babysit the little guy," Dillon explained. "You should probably go now, I'll just lock up here."

Without any other choice, Joe took his bag of meatball subs and walked out into the hall. All he knew at this point was that Stephanie was gone, and she had made arrangements for Rex. He figured that she must be okay, if she could do that. So he started to leave. He looked at Dillon and shook his head. Joe was too tired to argue, and too irritated to wonder where Stephanie was this time. He would look into it tomorrow.

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	12. Chapter 12

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Chapter 12

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The skies were quiet at this hour in the morning. The small plane carrying Ranger's team landed smoothly and was immediately directed to a private hangar. The General was watching, he was on site, but he was not going to let his presence be known. There was only a handful of people that he trusted right now, and he still had some investigating to do.

The moment Miller stepped off the plane and saw the helicopter that was here, waiting for the team, she knew that the general had come. She paused at the top of the stairs and whispered reverently to herself.

"N.S.D.Q"

Blinking a tear from her eye, she nearly ran down the steps and over to the beautiful little bird.

Aaron Gutierrez watched her in awe. He had been right behind her and had heard the letters she had said so softly. Now he realized just how much he did not know about DJ Miller. He hurried down the stairs too, and as he reached the tarmac, he moved to the side to let Ranger pass. Their eyes met and Ranger nodded at him.

"You heard?" Aaron asked him. Again Ranger nodded.

"Night Stalkers Don't Quit." Ranger said, quoting the motto with a reverence that matched Miller's. Both men turned to watch her. She was walking around the small helicopter, her hand skimmed over the smooth, shiny black surface as she rounded the front and looked in through the bubble shape window. They noticed that she seemed to be in her own little world, and Aaron wondered what was going through her mind.

Her thoughts were private, an excitement and an elation was growing inside her chest. He had done it, she thought, staring at the chopper. DJ could barely breathe, he had turned it into the MELB that she needed. Climbing inside she noted the state of the art GPS, the brand new night vision goggles and the FLIR or enhanced forward looking infrared system. Everything that she had asked for was all packed into the small maneuverable craft.

Kinkaid had not let her down. Her fingers lightly touched the secure comm switch. She could talk to him on his frequency if she needed to. But only if she needed to. She probably wouldn't. DJ was just happy to know that he was here. His trust in her warmed her heart. He had been nearly the only one on her side for so long now. It had been their agreement that if he could arrange for her favorite helicopter to be here, he would come with it.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted, and Miller was startled to see Ranger standing next to the helicopter. He grinned up at her and she could not help but give him a beaming smile of her own.

"Mission enhanced little bird," she said. "It's perfect!"

Ranger nodded, he understood. He had never met a pilot who didn't gush over the birds they flew. He was impressed with Miller. She was all that the general said she was, and he wondered why they had never crossed paths before. If she had been with the Night Stalkers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, she would have been one of the pilots who got his team in and out of their missions. He was pretty sure that he would remember her. It was hard to miss a beautiful woman in a uniform.

Holding his hand out to her, Ranger helped her step down. Aaron looked on and wished that he had gone over to join them. More than just a spike of jealousy, though there definitely was that as he watched DJ put her hand in Ranger's. He was worried about being here. He had pushed to get on the team, but it was a sad fact that he did not know exactly what was expected of him. All he had wanted to do was protect DJ. He had the feeling that she needed some special attention. Though he would be hard pressed to tell anyone what that would be. What he could see was a strong, brave, intelligent woman. What he could feel told him that she deserved to have someone always watching her back. He got the impression that she had not had that for far too long.

Joining the others leaving the plane, he walked past the chopper to join Ranger and DJ. He continued to watch her, knowing that he would find out soon just what he was going to be doing now that they were here. Once the team was settled into the small quarters at the back of the hanger, Tank handed out assignments and turned the attention to Ranger.

"Our job is to eliminate the small, but aggressive terrorist cell that is camping out on Turner's homestead. He turned to the wall behind him and pointed several things out on the map that hung there. "With it's proximity to the shore, they have access to the water. That has been their advantage, and that is where we will hit them."

Tank took over the conversation, referring to the pages in his hand. "Turner indicated that the men are holed up here," he pointed to the biggest building on the map. "And here," his finger moved to a smaller building adjacent to the other. "We know that all of their supplies have been delivered by boat, down here," he said, his hand sweeping a portion of the coast. "We will hit them when they are unloading their next shipment."

"Though it would be the easiest point of access, we will be spotted if we try to come in on the water," Ranger said. "That is why we have Miller and her chopper, she can put us down right here, behind this grove of trees where we won't be seen."

All eyes were trained on the map, following the details of the plan. Miller nodded with the rest of them, and waited patiently. There was a part two to the plan that they did not know about yet, but it would do no good to say anything about it right now. One thing at a time.

THE LIGHT at the window had faded into shadows by the time Stephanie opened her eyes again. In the dusky darkness, she was completely disoriented for a moment. Her head turned slowly to survey her surroundings, finally remembering that she was in Ranger's apartment. Shaking her head, she felt foolish for forgetting where she was. Her eyes stopped when she saw the clock on the DVD player. How could it be nine already? She sat up from the couch and thought for a minute. According to her calculations, Ranger should be in Nicosia by now. She wondered if they had any trouble getting there. Was he safe now?

Once again all of her questions and worries surfaced. She wished that she could call him, but that was out of the question. She sighed, Ranger would be the one who could call, and he had told her that it would not be a good idea. Most of his ops had a blackout time when he could not contact anyone. Her shoulders drooped just a bit, she was going to have to wait it out.

All of sudden, noises above her head made her jump. A small crash. She looked up at the ceiling, but there was nothing to indicate what made the noise. This was the top floor, whatever she had heard had to be on the roof. Stephanie grabbed her phone and ran to the door. The access to the stairs that went to the roof was just down the hall, she would go up and see what was happening up there.

Stephanie opened the door and peeked out. All quiet in the hall, so she pulled the door so it was almost closed and moved down to the stairwell door. Another clatter on the roof froze her in place, but she bravely reached out and put her hand on the doorknob. It didn't open, it was locked and Stephanie nearly swore in frustration. She needed to get up there and figure out what was going on. An idea popped into her head and she rushed back into the apartment. Grabbing the key fob, from the silver bowl on the hall table where she had dropped it earlier, she was back to the access door in an instant. She tried the electronic fob on the small panel next to the door frame, hoping that it would work.

It clicked, and with a smile of satisfaction, Stephanie slowly opened the door. Step by step she ascended the stairs and came to the outer door. It opened easily, when she tried the handle, and once again she just poked her head out a little bit to see if there was anything there. Another noise let her know that whatever it was she was looking for was around on the other side of the roof. She turned on the flashlight app on her phone and stealthily moved around the stairwell cover to get a good look at the problem.

What she saw confused her at first. She pointed the light on the ledge. She saw birds, and as soon as the light hit them, they seemed to all freak out. Another crash and in a flurry of feathers and flapping wings, they took flight, swooping past her before zooming across the street to land on the opposite building. Stephanie crept forward and confirmed what it was that she had just seen. She picked up the mangled metal box and ran back down the stairs.

Without stopping at the apartment, she kept going down to the fifth floor. Her goal now was to find Hector and have him tell her exactly what this thing was. As she hoped he would be, Hector was at the temporary set up in the corner of the room. He looked up when he heard her coming.

"Um, Hector," Stephanie said, not wanting to disturb him, but desperately wanting him to take a look at what she had found. She stepped forward and laid the thing on his table. "What is this?" she asked. Moving back a step, she got out of his way when he jumped up from his chair.

"Where did you find this?" he asked without looking at her

"It was on the roof," she told him. Now she had his attention and he pulled a chair up and indicated that she should be seated.

"Sit," he said. "And tell me everything that you saw."

Hector stared into her eyes, nailing Stephanie with his intensity. Everyone knew how hard he was trying to find out how his systems had been hacked. Now she had the answer that he was looking for and it made her smile, just a little bit.

She leaned forward almost conspiratorially, "I heard a noise," she said, excitement evident in her voice. It felt great to help him solve his little mystery. "And…"

Her pocket buzzed and Stephanie shoved in her hand to grab her phone. She was hoping beyond hope that it was Ranger calling to at least let her know that they had all made it to their destination, even if he couldn't say anything else. She looked at the screen. Hector watched as her face fell, and she slumped down in the chair, as if she was ashamed. Her eyes were wide when she punched a button and spoke into the phone. "Joe?"

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	13. Chapter 13

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Chapter 13

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No time was wasted, The team geared up and climbed into the helicopter. Tank took the seat next DJ, and the rest of the team strapped into the seats on the bench behind the pilot's seats. It was a matter of practicality to have Tank in the co-pilot's seat, his size demanded it, but Miller soon found out that he was also a certified pilot in his own right. His smile over her surprise was playful. He had not piloted a plane in years, but he still loved the shock of people imagining him as a pilot.

Behind them, Aaron kept his eyes on the back of DJ's head. All of the men had headsets, like hers, inside the helmets that they wore. The communication system in the chopper was phenomenal. Over the vibration and noise of the blades above them, they could all speak and be heard with perfect clarity. It was this wonderful feature that let Aaron, along with everyone else, hear every word of DJ's conversation with Tank.

They were not flirting, not by a long shot, but Aaron felt some jealously building up inside his chest. He wished that it was him, sitting in the spot next to her. That it was his story that brought the sweet laughter of hers to his ears. After some unsettling moments, Aaron realized that he was going to have to make a change, and soon. At the very least, he was going to have to introduce himself to her. He had come to protect her, to keep her safe. Now he understood that he wanted more than that. So much more than that. He wanted to get to know Miss DJ Miller. Very personally.

He would, and soon, he had no doubt about that. For now, he let himself be impressed with her command of the chopper. The flight was smooth, she kept them under the radar, flying at very low altitudes, but still managed to keep them out of sight as much as possible by staying over the trees and buildings, and away from open areas. Her knowledge of the area was evident, that was obviously one of the reasons she was involved in this mission.

That every single person on the team was here for a specific reason was not lost on him. Aaron's own assignment proved that, and he let just a hint of a smile touch his mouth. He was to oversee the communication system for the team. That it required that he stay close to the chopper, and to DJ who also had to stay with her bird, made him very happy.

AFTER BEING dismissed from her apartment, Joe's anger at Stephanie started to reach epic proportions. He had the whole ride back to his own place to think about how she seemed to be avoiding him. He gave it a lot of thought. By the time he unlocked his door and was met by a big slobbering dog, his mood had evened out a little bit. Morelli let himself be distracted, Bob the enthusiastic dog was happy to have him back home, and he showed his affection with sloppy kisses and heavy hugs. Joe was sure that his nephews had been nice to him while he was away, but there was no mistaking that Bob loved the fact that he was back. He played with him for a few minutes and then took Bob for a walk.

The time outside seemed to have a calming effect on both man and beast. As they made their way back to the house, Bob was ready to settle down on his oversized pillow, and Joe knew it was time to have that talk with Stephanie. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and took out one of the now cold sandwiches from Pino's. He sat down on the couch and stared at the black screen of the TV before pulling out his phone. Dialing Stephanie's number, he waited. It only rang once this time before he heard her voice come on the line.

"Joe?" Stephanie sounded different. He could not tell if she was confused, or upset, or sad. The realization, that being away from each other for as long as they had may have driven them apart in more ways than one, hit Joe with more force than ever before. He knew that was exactly why they needed to talk. He took a deep breath, this was not something that he had wanted to do on the phone.

"Hi Steph," he said, his voice low and controlled. "I guess you didn't get my message today."

He didn't give her a chance to answer before he continued to speak. It didn't really matter whether she had or had not seen his message. Or if she had stood him up on purpose, or by accident again, he just needed to talk to her now. "Can we meet? I think we really need to clear up a few things."

Stephanie stared forward. This is so not what she wanted to do right now, no matter how much she knew that she really did need to tell him a few things, she did not have time for him at the moment. "Joe, I…" she didn't know what to say. She could not meet him anywhere, she had promised Ranger that she would stay here. What she wanted to say to Joe probably shouldn't be done over the phone, but what choice did she have?

"Steph, it is important," Joe insisted. "Can't we just see each other for a few minutes tonight?"

She wanted to tell him that it was too late tonight, but a peek at the clock (and a quick calculation back into civilian time) told her that it was only 9:30. She could try to put him off til the morning, but what good would that do? The same problems would exist tomorrow. She was staying here until Ranger got back and that could be days. Her mind raced, trying to come up with a solution. Because beneath it all, she did need to talk to Joe. She wanted to tell him that they did not have a relationship. According to what Mary Lou had pointed out to her, they hadn't had one in a very long time.

Her reflections after that conversation with her best friend had made her realize that they had spent more time in their ridiculous 'Time Outs' than they had ever spent together. Yes, they needed to talk. Joe was still speaking, trying to convince her to meet her at Pino's if she didn't want to come to his place. She almost smiled, he was offering her a neutral place to talk. He was negotiating with her, this was definitely something new between them. The need to meet suddenly became even more important to her. Finally, the solution formed in her mind.

"I'm at RangeMan Joe," she said abruptly, interrupting him. The silence that followed was not unexpected. He had always hated her working here, and she could picture him looking down at his shoes trying to find the control he needed before he said anything. In fact, that is exactly what he was doing. Joe was thinking that this was just one of the many reasons that their relationship had been 'off' so much of the time. And what was she still doing there now? It was way past even her crazy office hours. He was about to tell her that, when she spoke again.

"Can you come here?" she asked. "I can meet you in the front office."

Stephanie knew that the cops, and other visitors, always came to the front entrance when they wanted to talk to Ranger. She had only been down there once, but she remembered that it was quiet and there was a conference room right down the hall from the front doors. She wouldn't leave, so meeting him here was the best that she could offer. He was right, they needed to talk. It would be good to have it over and done with before Ranger came back. Clearing Joe from her life was the best thing that she could do, both for herself and for Ranger. And for Joe, she added reluctantly, Joe had stood between them for far too long. It wasn't fair to any of them.

"You want me to come to RangeMan?" he said, incredulous. "What about Ranger? Is he there too?" His voice betrayed the anger and dislike of the man he had long suspected of playing with Stephanie's emotions. What other reason could there be for Stephanie to insist on meeting there if it wasn't because of Ranger? Though Joe knew what he wanted to say to her, it irritated him to think that the man he had tried to keep her away from, for years, would be next to her, or right behind the wall as the case may be. How could Stephanie really have an honest conversation with him, when Ranger was right around the corner. He was about to say so, when her next words caught him by surprise.

"No Joe, Ranger is not here." she said. Deep traces of pain were laced in her words. Joe did not speak for a long moment. His thoughts were taking him in a whole new direction, and they were made all too evident with his next question to her.

"Stephanie, are you in trouble?" The idea that another stalker could be after her, or another angry FTA, trying to get revenge on her, had his mind reeling. Why else would she be reluctant to leave the building that she always fled to for safety. Joe was truly not sure whether to be glad she had the refuge, or sad to see, again, that the only place she ever felt safe was so far away from him. "What is wrong?" he finally asked.

She did not answer. There was too much to try to explain if she wanted him to understand. Mostly she just did not want to have this conversation over the phone. Her sigh was so audible, Hector looked up at her with concern. Stephanie tried to smile, but it came off more like a grimace. She shrugged and turned away.

"Can you come?" she asked again. "Now."

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	14. Chapter 14

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Chapter 14

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John Smith lifted the black case onto the table top. He had to admit that he was impressed with the amount of security he had to go through to get the RangeMen to release this equipment to him. Even if he had nearly been at the point of irritation with their diligence, he acknowledged that they were every bit as good as the general had said they would be.

With precise movements, he opened the case. Carefully removing the device, he set it on the table, admiring it just for a moment. This high tech sensor was a work of art, as were the drones that it was built to track. He was very proud of it, of his part in developing it, and now it was time to let it do the job it was designed to do.

Contrary to what Miller thought, Smith was not at all distressed about not being included in the mission that had taken the team to Nicosia. Under the direction of General Kinkaid, he had lived and worked there for the past decade and he knew what they were getting themselves into. His job had included butting heads with government and resistance leaders, but it had also allowed him to work with some of the most brilliant inventors in the world.

Because of his talents and skills in science and technology, it was his cover to be an engineer in the petroleum industry. He had worked for the GlobalGas company, a conglomerate that had been privately established by the heads of several top secret agencies, including Kinkaid. The company attracted many of the best minds from around the world with the challenge, the support, and the money they offered. It was Smith's job to join with these people to invent the newest and best technologies for exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas.

As a bonus, the company and the general, who had controlling interest, encouraged all kinds of extracurricular activities among their engineers and inventors. That is where the drones were made, and by design, the company had access to all of the projects that were done in their labs. The sensor that Smith was about to put to use was one of their latest contraptions. Of course it had to be invented because of the creation of several worker drones. It had been a safety measure so that none of the drones could be used undetected.

It was fortunate that it had been completed before any of the drones went into use. As it turned out, Smith had been using this device to follow the unauthorized activity of two of the most sophisticated robot drones. Smith was still amazed at the dexterity and the complex movements that these small machines could perform. Unfortunately, the ones he was tracking had been programmed to carry out some very illegal activities. And now he was involved in some cat and mouse games, trying to find them and stop whoever had stolen them from the labs in Nicosia. In the week since the theft, these drones had been busy, leading Smith through parts of Europe and over to the United States.

The majority of activity that he had detected had been in Washington DC. But when some strange readings were picked up locally, Smith had followed the trail to Trenton. Tapping into the drones own cameras had been the most ingenious part of the sensor, and it was the footage they had recorded that had led them to Haywood Street. The last activity recorded had been yesterday around noon, and because of the location, the general had sent Smith directly over to check it out.

Smith was convinced, as was the general, that it had been no coincidence that the drones had shown up here at the same time Kinkaid had asked for Ranger's help. In their business, there were no coincidences. It irked Smith that someone close to the general was feeding information to the operators of the drones. Too much was at stake.

Adjusting the delicate antennae, Smith powered up the device and watched the readings on the small screens. Nothing was happening. Everything seemed to have been abruptly ended just after the spike of activity yesterday, and he was afraid that unless something else happened, he was not going to find the exact location of the drones, or the trail back to the people who had stolen them.

As if on cue, several red lines appeared on the screen. Smith jumped to attention, they were back in business! How could they be so lucky? He tried to tune into the camera, but the image he could see on the screen made no sense. All he could do was watch to see if anything changed and became recognizable. In the meantime, he tracked the longitude and latitude readings to find the location. His calculations were almost complete when the screens went blank again. It appeared that something had happened to the drone.

In frustration, Smith tried to chart the location from the last readings it had recorded. When he got it mapped out, he was more than surprised to see that the coordinates showed the very location where he was currently staying. This was hard to believe, who could he confirm it with? Smith took his map and made his way up to the fifth floor. He had been briefly introduced to several of the men on duty, and he hoped that one of them could help him see if there was anyway it could actually be here.

STEPHANIE sat back and looked at Hector. She held up her phone, indicating the conversation that she had just had.

"I have to go in a few minutes, but I have time to tell you what I found on the roof," she said.

Hector nodded and she quickly filled him in on the details. "After the first crash, I ran up to see what was happening. I heard another crash when I reached the roof, and this is what I found." Stephanie pointed to the box. "There was a flock of birds that looked like they were attacking it," she said, a touch of wonder in her voice. "They were small birds, but they were all on top of it." She and Hector exchanged a pensive look.

"Could the birds have been too heavy on it?" he asked, as if just thinking out loud. "If they landed on it, the extra weight might have been too much. He stood and walked around the table, looking at the box from every angle. Still talking to himself, Hector noted the navigation controls, and the robotic arms. They were all broken, whether from the fall, or from the damage the birds caused he did not know. But he was fascinated by the design.

It was the answer he had been looking for. This remote controlled mini robot had all the elements needed to hover and perform simple tasks. The camera would allow the operator to see what he was working on. And while he figured it could possibly be sophisticated enough to have the commands programmed in, he was not convinced that it would work on its own. It made more sense that someone was controlling it. That meant that they would have to be near to be able to transmit the signal. He immediately got to work trying to figure out if he could activate the signal and locate the source.

Stephanie watched him work. She had no idea what he was saying, or what he was doing, but it looked like he was on to something now that could help find whoever had messed things up for them yesterday. She stood, debating whether or not to interrupt him long enough to say that she needed to go. Suddenly he stood up straight and stared right at her.

"Esta aqui cerca," he said.

Smith heard him as he walked up to them. In one quick glance, he took in the look in Hector's eyes, the box on the table and the modified scanner that was picking up a frequency. He knew exactly what was happening, and he had to try to hide a small smile. It was almost never this easy. He was starting to really like it here at RangeMan.

"Vamos a recogerlos," Smith said, revealing his excitement with just the gleam in his eyes.

Hector nodded fell in step with Smith as they turned and headed across the room. Stephanie followed them to the elevators where they stopped to talk to Rodriguez. As the man in charge while Ranger and the team was gone, Rodriguez agreed with their plan of action. In a matter of minutes Hector had Smith and Cal in tow and they all headed down the stairs. Stephanie watched them leave and turned to face Rodriguez.

"Uh," she started, feeling reluctant to have to ask this favor. "Um, I need a place to talk with someone," she said. "It's kind of private and I was hoping that I could meet them in the small conference room down by the front door."

Stephanie had been uncomfortable asking, she was afraid that Rodriguez would ask her all kinds of questions about who she was meeting, and why. But he simply nodded and smiled at her.

"Binky is on duty at the front desk. Just tell him you are expecting someone," he said. Noticing her relief, he smiled at her and started to walk away. Before she got to the elevator, she saw him turn around. "Oh, and just be sure to turn off the lights when you're done," he said with a wink. How did everyone around her always know what was going on?

A few minutes later she was standing by the front desk with Binky when Joe showed up at the door. Binky walked over and opened it for him. Joe walked through and silently followed Stephanie as she walked a few steps down the hall to the conference room. A smile played on her lips as she turned on the light and walked into the room. She leaned against the table and looked at him. It had been so long, and he looked good. Joe stayed by the door, casually smiling at her.

Any nervousness she had had about meeting him evaporated, Stephanie knew exactly what she wanted to say. It had been a long time in coming, but she had never been more ready to let him know exactly how she felt. Clearing her throat a little, she was about to speak when Joe moved forward and took her hand in his.

"Stephanie, I have something that I have been wanting to say to you for so long," he said. His gaze was steady and Stephanie just stared back at him. Swallowing, she tried to start again, but he kept on talking. "You know I love you Steph, don't you cupcake?" He reached for her other hand. "I will always love you." Stephanie could only stare at him now, eyes wide.

"We have been playing a game for too long Steph," he said. She nodded in agreement. "In a game, you can take time outs," he continued. "In fact, sometimes the whole game depends on them, but a relationship is not a game. You are either all in or all out, all of the time."

He took a deep breath and Stephanie was ready to make her speech to him, but he surprised her as he dropped her hands and backed up a step or two. "Steph, I'm sorry," his dark eyes held hers for a long moment. "I can't play games anymore," he said. "It's not working between us, so I have to say, I'm out, for good."

Stephanie could not believe it, Joe had practically taken the words right out of her mouth. She nodded, he was right. It somehow amazed her that they had both come to the same conclusion this time. It was over and they were both in agreement.

How ironic that practically the only thing that they had ever agreed wholeheartedly on was that it was time to stop playing games with each other. She opened her mouth speak, but closed it again and smiled. What else was there to say?

"You're ri…" Stephanie did not get to finish the only words she had finally attempted to say. There was shouting from the front, and suddenly Cal was at the door. He looked at Joe, "We could use a cop," he said, and both men were out of the door before she knew it. Shaking her head, she stood and slowly walked to the door. She turned off the light and closed the door behind her.

This had definitely not gone the way she had planned, but so what? All she could think of now was that she was free. No more Joe, no more games. No matter who had said the words, it was really over now and she had never been so happy.

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	15. Chapter 15

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Chapter 15

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DJ was at full alert, still flying low, she turned off the few lights on the chopper that she had dared use. Now she was depending on her goggles and her knowledge of the area to get them to their drop point. Just over the next gently sloping hill, they would be able to see Turner's property. She had flown this route several times before, and she knew that for a brief time, her bird could be seen from the house. She had to minimize the chances that that could happen. That was why it had been so important to get here this early. Hiding in the dark of night was their only chance to get into place undetected.

She held her breath, not releasing she had done so until they were approaching the grove of trees. Tank heard her release the air from her lungs. He turned to smile at her, they were almost in place, and he gave her the thumbs up. She returned his smile, taking another deeper breath. Her relief was short lived, however, and she felt the rise of panic in her chest as she swung the bird around and frantically searched for another place to hide.

Tank had seen it too. Right before the sound of the sharp crackle of gunfire had hit their ears, he had seen the flash of light from the barrel of a gun. No mistaking what that meant.

"Weapons ready!" he calmly said. Their plans had just changed.

"They knew we were coming," DJ whispered. Aaron heard the fear, but also the anger in her voice. It was Ranger who spoke next, quickly leading a discussion of what they knew about situation here. At first they had rejected the idea of coming in on the water, they would be seen too early, but that did not seem to be a factor now. Since they had already been seen, there was no sense in landing so far from the targeted area.

With new plans, DJ circled around the trees and headed to the beach. Aaron kept his eyes on the tiny bursts of fire that he could see in the darkness. By his count, there were more than ten guns shooting at them. Fortunately, DJ's evasive maneuvering and the growing distance kept them from being hit. But now they had an idea of how many people they might find at the beach. The intel from the general showed there to be approximately twenty men occupying Turner's place. Aaron smiled, they had made their move, and by placing the majority of their fighters behind the grove, they had left the rest of the complex relatively unprotected.

In a quiet voice, Ranger echoed his thoughts. "They just made it easier for us," he said. "DJ

will put us down close to the docks. Tank, you and Hal take the houses. Santos you are with me."

A minute later, the chopper was on the ground and the men were in motion. Aaron grabbed his weapon and jumped out. He immediately got into position to provide cover for both of the two man teams heading out. Once they were safely out of his sight, he surveyed the perimeter area and returned to the chopper. DJ was at the door, weapon in hand as she hopped down.

Aaron lowered his gun. "That was a helluva ride," he said. She nodded. He extended his hand to her. "We haven't met," he said with a shy smile. "Gutierrez, Aaron," he said with unmistakable military precision.

She lifted her hand. "Miller, DebraJean," she said softly. They shook hands, the mere touch sending a jolt of electricity up Aaron's arm, leaving him shaken. DJ felt it too, a small gasp escaped her lips before she almost jerked her hand away. What was that, she thought, she had never felt anything like it before.

He couldn't hide his smile, Aaron was pleased to see that the effect had been mutual. And in that moment he had never been happier. Suddenly his arm was jerked forward. Before he could process what she was doing, he was thrown down to the ground. DJ was kneeling beside him firing into the darkness. Without hesitation, he rolled, bringing his weapon with him as he got into position and joined her. On her mark, they rushed forward, guns blazing in the dark. She'd still had her night vision goggles on her head, and pulling them into place, she could see their attackers. Aaron could only follow her lead, the helmet he had worn earlier had been for use exclusively in the chopper. He kept close and followed the instructions she shouted at him.

Over the blasts of gunfire, she yelled out the coordinates of the men she could see. Four of them were down now and the remaining two were trying to run away from them. DJ pursued them, Aaron still right behind her. The men did not get far, DJ hit them both, and then she abruptly stopped. Her head swung around, searching the area for any other surprises.

Her breathing was all he could hear, until a branch snapped behind them. Aaron swung around, his gun in position. "Stand down." Aaron heard Ranger speak just a heartbeat before he could see him, and he jerked his weapon up. DJ stood next to him now as Ranger and Lester stepped into her vision. "We heard gunfire," Lester said, waiting for an explanation.

"Miller saved my ass," Aaron admitted freely. He was still reeling from her touch, her quick action. He was in awe of DJ Miller. It was a good thing that she took over at that point, he couldn't have said another word if his life depended on it.

"Sir, six men are down," she said in that soft raspy voice Aaron was beginning to love so much. "They came at us from behind, probably from the dock."

Ranger nodded, they had made it to the dock just as the shots were heard. They had not seen anyone, so it was reasonable to say that the guards had heard the chopper and left their posts near the beach. The noise was sure to bring the rest of the men to them now too. It wouldn't take long for them to get here from the grove.

Like the calm before the storm, the silence they now heard was unnerving. Ranger was talking, low and serious with DJ. A new plan was needed, and she was going to be a pivotal part of it.

Up at the house, no shots had been fired. There had been only three men watching things there, and it had been no trouble at all for Tank and Hal to use other methods of subduing the men. They had heard the gunfire and knew it was time to get back to the team. The gunfire worried him, but Tank was sure that things were under control now that it was so quiet. Meeting up with the rest, they reported in and stood ready for the new instructions.

"We'll make our stand here," Ranger said. Nodding at DJ he turned to Aaron. "Gutierrez, man the the weapons on the chopper." The details of the plan were shared and everyone immediately got into position.

The remaining goons felt the vibration of the chopper as it rose up in the air above their heads. A few of them raised their guns to fire at them, and that was their first mistake. Aaron, now with his helmet and night vision goggles in place, watched their movements and responded with a spray of bullets that leveled half of them on the ground in less than ten seconds. The rest, assuming that the retreating bird meant that they were leaving, started pulling their phones out and calling or texting their cohorts.

DJ flew in a wide circle, keeping the illusion of flying away, while Aaron happily pulled out his equipment to track all of the outgoing signals. Within minutes, he was able to triangulate most of them to find the rest of the terrorist cells in the area. This information was going to be valuable to the general, but Ranger instructed him to keep it secret for now. He did not want it getting into the wrong hands.

It had been agreed that Aaron would need five minutes to track all the signals, so the rest of the team kept out of sight until the time was up. After that, all hell broke loose. Shots came at the remaining terrorists from all angles. In no time at all, they were eliminated and the property was secured.

Just then the chopper came back into view. It was an amazing sight. The dark bird was silhouetted against the pale silver glow of a distant sunrise as it slowly angled to the ground in front of them. No words were spoken for a full minute.

Ranger climbed in and caught the look in Aaron's face. He was puzzled, it was not what he was expecting, not at all. "You got the signals?" he asked. Aaron nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "But you are not going to like this. After saying that, he handed the small screen to Ranger. With a long look, Ranger shook his head.

"Shit!" he said under his breath. He looked around at the team. "It's not over yet."

HECTOR HAD his scanner in his hand and he followed the coordinates he had taken from the broken drone. Silently, the three men climbed the stairs inside the building right across the street from RangeMan. He had been right, the drone had been controlled from next door. All this time, the problem had been right in their own backyard. Smith had no idea how much this bothered Hector. He was here to finally discover who had stolen the drones and betrayed the general.

With a hand signal, Cal moved into place by the door at the top of the stairs. Hector pulled out his gun and pointed it straight ahead. Smith followed suit and they were ready when Cal tried the door handle. He looked at them, it had turned, it was not locked, and he was ready to open the door. They let the door open just a few inches and they looked in. Cal pulled the door shut and looked at Hector. Then they both turned their eyes to Smith.

He shook his head. Confusion was in his expression, and so was fury. Cal had to stop him from charging into the room and possibly killing the person inside.

"No, wait," Cal whispered. "I have a better idea."

Hector and Smith waited outside the door while Cal stealthily moved back down the stairs and dashed over to the RangeMan building. Binky saw him coming and opened the door for him. Cal swept in and ran to the conference room. He was glad to see that Morelli was not only still there, he was willing to come with him.

They were back across the street before Cal wondered if Stephanie had been done with her discussion with Morelli. She hadn't said anything, and the cop had left without any hesitation. Still it now bothered him that he had rushed in like that. Oh well, he told himself, one problem at a time.

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	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter 16

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The journey had taken so much out of him. The intense meeting this morning had drained what was left of his energy, and Francis Turner had been so grateful for the accommodations that the general had arranged for him here at RangeMan. He had been directed to the small apartment, and that wonderful woman, Ella, had made sure that he was provided with meals throughout the day. It was much more that he had expected or could have ever asked for. Even so, Turner hated to be a bother to anyone and after several hours of sleep, he was becoming a little bit restless.

He had spent his life working in a small enclosed space, and the freedom he had started to enjoy in the open spaces of his home in Nicosia, now left him feeling claustrophobic. He opened the door of the apartment and looked out. No one was around, but that was okay, he did not think it would be a problem to explore his new surroundings a little bit.

The elevator was at the end of the hall, and he decided to take it down to bottom floor of the building and work his way up. Curiously, he was not able to access the basement level, but undeterred, he explored what he could.

The men on the monitoring desks followed his progress up and down the halls and watched him wander through the gym, the media center, the game room and the break room where he sat for a nice relaxing cup of coffee. He spent a long time there, enough to let his presence be forgotten as there were other things to do.

They did not notice him look at the phone that he had removed from his coat pocket. They did not see that he was reading a text message. And when he got back on the elevator and pushed the buttons for every floor, they were pretty sure that he was going back to his apartment and had just forgotten which floor it was on. No doubt he would figure it out.

In the meantime, an alarm came in, demanding their immediate attention and keeping them from watching his return trip back to the apartment. No problem, they were not worried, he would eventually find his way.

Turner was not sure why the general wanted to meet with him in the parking garage, but he had learned long ago that you did not argue with the man. Besides, he had been in the garage before and it was a secured place, so he saw no problem doing what Kinkaid asked him to do. He stepped out of the elevator and looked around. At first he thought no one was there, but then a man stepped out from behind a big truck and Turner froze.

He was looking at himself. It was as if he were looking in a mirror. His confusion turned to terror when the man stepped forward and grabbed his arms. The sting he felt made him cry out, but there was able to make no other resistance as everything turned black and he slumped to the ground.

SEVERAL BLINKING lights cast a red glow on the beautiful face of DJ Miller, and Aaron could not help but admire the strong set of her delicate jaw, or the sexy shadows of her prominent cheekbones. With an effort he turned his attention back to the screen and the job at hand. DJ looked up at him, he was so serious, so dedicated. Admiration was shining in her eyes, and she tried to keep from staring at him. A smile was sneaking onto her lips. There was a lot more to Aaron Gutierrez than a handsome face and a spectacular body, and she wanted to discover all of his hidden talents.

She sucked in a quick breath and tried, again, to gain control over her emotions. This was probably not the time or place to be having such thoughts, but it was impossible for her not to notice him. In fact, she remembered the double take she'd had the first time she had laid eyes on him. Of course it had been a very quick look, since she'd ended up on the floor just seconds after seeing him. But she could not deny that he had made an immediate impression. Now his affect on her was forefront in her mind. Nothing, and no one, had ever made her feel this way, and damned if she didn't like it.

"We have at least five locations to cover," he was saying. DJ nodded and noted the addresses on her log as he read them off. The first three were close by, but the last two were across the water in Turkey. Her hand stopped mid sentence, and she looked up at Aaron. A beat or two later, Aaron noticed the change and shot a curious glance her way.

"What it is?" he asked. He was beginning to become alarmed as her face seemed to pale. Her hand was shaking, and in concern he took it in his and waited for her to say something. Though his senses were on overload at the feel of her slender hand in his, it was the worry he felt that left him unable to breathe for those tense moments.

Presently, DJ seemed to shake it off and she started to explain. "I know these places," she softly said. "I have been there."

Her words seemed to carry a pain for her that he did not understand. DJ squared her shoulders, and sat up a little bit straighter. Aaron noticed the change in her posture as well as the strength of her voice. She was all business now, and he got the impression that she did not want to talk about it. But he was determined to find out what had haunted her for those few minutes. He wanted to find whatever it was and take it away, so she would never feel that way again. In time he vowed that he would.

The hanger was equipped with temporary quarters, and the team was taking advantage of the bunks and food provisions while they waited for the next phase of their mission. None of them were surprised that nothing was going according to plan. In fact, in these situations, they never expected it to. Being able to adapt and adjust were as important in their skill set as their ability to track something or use any number of weapons. But that did not imply that they liked waiting around. They didn't.

With his cell phone on his ear, Ranger stood by the table and looked at the map on Aaron's screen and the addresses that DJ had written on her tablet. He nodded, whether at something that was said on the phone, or at something he saw on the table, no one could tell. It was not important, they would find out soon enough what needed to be done. It seemed to Aaron that DJ was anxious to say something to Ranger, but she remained silent after the call was ended and he began to walk away. Everyone suddenly seemed so edgy. After a moment, Ranger turned to them and asked about what they had found.

The information was relayed to Ranger. He nodded and asked a few more questions. After telling him what he knew, Aaron sat back and looked at DJ. He knew that she had more to say, but all he could do is watch as she stood and moved to the door leading out to the hanger. Aaron saw her disappear, but before he could follow, Ranger also made his way out of the door. He had obviously noticed DJ's manner and had decided to talk to her. It was all he could do to stay seated, but Aaron could sense that this was not a conversation that DJ really wanted to have. He figured it must have something to do with the op they were here for, or she would have kept it to herself, and, in that case, Ranger would be the one for her to talk to.

Of course, Ranger knew of her past, especially as it related to this part of the world. He thought that he knew exactly what she was going to say, but he was about to find out just how he wrong had been. DJ was standing near the helicopter when he found her. She looked up as he approached. Ranger leaned casually against curve of the window and waited until she was ready to speak.

"I was here several years ago," she said. Ranger nodded, he knew all about that. With difficulty she swallowed and continued. "I was based at Incirlik. I explored a lot in my down time and loved to visit the nearby town of Latakia. A young girl came to me in the streets one day. She had information that she wanted to share with me because she thought that I could help her." DJ let her head hang down for a moment, struggling with her emotions. When she looked up at Ranger again, he could see the hurt in her eyes.

"I didn't help her," she said. "I wanted to. She was young, but she was strong and determined to make things right for her family. I knew she would do anything she could to make that happen." Her voice changed as she continued in not much more than a whisper, as if she were talking to herself. Ranger leaned forward just to hear what she was saying.

"I met with her every time I got out there and passed her information along to the commander," she said, her gaze set on something beyond his shoulder that her eyes could not see. Her past was playing over again in her mind. "I wanted to do something, but he told me to wait." Now her eyes were on Ranger again. "Then I woke up in Germany."

His knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the accident did not include this bit of information, and Ranger was a little shocked, but that was nothing compared to how he felt with the next words she said. She lowered her eyes again, this was hard for her to say.

"I never saw Beyza again," she said, unaware of Ranger's sudden reaction. "But I know that one of the calls that Gutierrez tracked, just now, originated from her place." She was shaking her head. "I recognized the address, and either she has changed, or moved, or she could be in trouble."

"If we charge in…" she started to say.

"If we charge in, we could put her in danger," Ranger finished the sentence for her. DJ looked up, her head nodded slightly. "We won't put her in harms way." He made this promise with such conviction it surprised her. And then he left. DJ watched him go back into the quarters, leaving the door open. She took another minute or two, to compose herself, then she followed him in.

STEPHANIE COULDN'T HELP but smile. Closing the door of the conference room seemed symbolic of closing the Morelli chapter of her life. It felt so good, and a bubble of laughter rose to her lips. Binky looked up at her as she joined him by the desk. She noticed that his attention had been on the building across the street.

"So what's up?" she asked. They both let their eyes take in the quiet street bathed in golden light from the overhead lampposts. It was quiet, all the businesses around were closed, no one was out at this hour of night. It was a peaceful scene, for about one more minute, then everything changed. Binky rushed forward to the door when several police cars pulled up with their lights flashing and their sirens blaring.

The commotion took her by surprise. Stephanie was about to join Binky, as he walked outside to get a better view, when someone came up to the door. He held the door open and, in a gentlemanly way, waited for her to pass through it. She was surprised to see Turner standing there, smiling at her. The older gentleman had been very quiet since the moment he had arrived at RangeMan. Stephanie suddenly realized that she had not even met the man properly. She just knew that he had been helping the general, and that Ranger was letting him stay here to keep him safe.

It belatedly occurred to her that Mr. Turner had been pretty much ignored with all the other activity going on at RangeMan right now. For some strange reason, she hoped that he had not been offended, thinking that they had been rude to him. It was an odd thing to think of, and she was still puzzling it in her mind as she passed by him.

"On a walk?" she asked conversationally. It had crossed her mind that if she was asked to stay inside, he most definitely should have too, but there was no sense in saying anything to him, now that he was back.

"That's a big to do over there," he observed. Stephanie smiled and nodded at him.

"I have no idea what is happening," she said, staring out at the chaos in the street. Binky was standing a few steps away, close to the curb, in a stance that showed he was ready to jump into action if needed. Officers were hunched behind their patrol cars that had been angled in, surrounding the entrance of the building across the way. There were two cops on either side of the entrance, with their guns drawn.

"Oh, you will," the older gentleman said, causing her to look up at him. In that instant that she noticed that he was not nearly as old as he had seemed to be. Stephanie drew in a sharp breath, but before she could say anything, Turner grabbed her and started moving. One hand was over her mouth, and the other had a tight grip on her arm as he propelled her down the street. Stephanie winced, her arm was still smarting from her run in with Smith and every movement antagonized the sore muscles. Her struggles against the man were ineffective and only made her realize that trying to break free was going to be impossible.

Her muffled screams could not be heard over the sirens and shouting in the street. No one even looked their way. Stephanie noticed, with some dismay, that all attention was still focused on the other side of the street. Slipping her free hand into her pocket, she frantically searched for anything that she might find that could help her in this present situation.

Wrapping her fingers around the key ring, she tried to think. Quickly she pulled it out and dropped it on the ground. The tube of chapstick went next. Then a slightly bent paperclip, that she had been playing with at Hector's desk, joined the other items now spaced almost evenly from each other.

Turner pulled her around the corner, and shoved her through a steel door that had been left slightly ajar. Stephanie had no idea what was going on, but she was absolutely sure that this man was not Francis Turner. She'd done the research on the man, and she knew from the medical records that he had a slight limp due to one leg being shorter than the other. This one fact was enough to let her know that she had been grabbed by an impostor, but why?

The sounds of the action outside gradually faded as she was dragged down one darkened hallway after another. Desperate to notice anything that might help her get out of her predicament, she listened intently to hear the now distant noises. Somewhere a new siren had joined the others, one that she did not immediately recognize. Wondering why it mattered, Stephanie tried again to concentrate on her surroundings. 'Remember everything' she told herself. How could any of this be happening? Who was this man? Could anyone find her? What did he want with her anyway? How had Ranger known something could happen to her? Her questions were silenced at once, when her world went black.

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	17. Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

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Aaron's intel led them to the terrorists that been contacted during the attack. It was a small matter to track down and eliminate the targets close to Turner's place and the hanger here on the island. Once they were completed, Ranger assembled the team and made preparations to find the rest. Clearance to land the helicopter at the Air Force base gave the team a safe place to start the next phase of this assignment.

In a matter of hours, all of the known targets had been dealt with. All but one. This was the one that meant the most to both DJ and Ranger. They were in place now, the team had their backs, they were ready to find their answers. Aaron watched warily from a short distance. He was glad that DJ was not alone when she approached the door. She had said that she had been here before, but that was a long time ago, and things can change. The fact that a call had come to this location could be evidence of that. It was good to see that Ranger was sticking by her side to keep her as safe as he could.

The thoughts going through Ranger's head were very similar to Aaron's. He had been here just a year ago. How many times since then had he wondered if Beyza had survived? As much as he did not want to destroy DJ's hope, he was not as sure as she was that they would find what they wanted. Just across the street, Aaron waited anxiously as DJ tapped on the door.

"Merhaba!" She called out several times, but there seemed to be no answer. Disappointment was creeping in, DJ had hoped that it was early enough to find Beyza at home. The day had just started. Children were in small groups running and laughing on their way to classes, their mothers behind them, walking together in groups of their own, ready to go to the market after the kids were delivered to the school up the road.

Taxi's raced by the ladies, hoping to pick up a fare, but the women ignored the battered cars and the pushy men inside of them. Aaron looked on, wishing that this job could be over soon. He instinctively knew that the longer they were here, the more danger they would be in. He rubbed his eyes, the early morning sun was still at an angle and it glared off of the shiny white van that was racing up the street. What was with the driver, he thought. The van was going way too fast. The feeling that something was not right about this intensified when it veered off to the side of the road, .

He rushed forward, aware that he could not get to DJ before the van did, but he had to do something to attract her attention, warn her. Aaron shouted, and she looked up at him seeing the expression on his face. In the next instant, an explosion lit up the street. People scattered in every direction as a rain of debris showered down on their heads. Mothers screamed for their children, and Aaron kept running.

Aaron knew that Hal and Lester were in position behind the house. They would probably be safe from the blast. He couldn't allow himself to think that there was nothing that DJ could have done to get out of the way. Suddenly he realized that Tank was by his side, they were both intent on getting to Ranger and DJ as quick as they could. His heart was nearly pounding through his rib cage now, how did this get so FUBAR?

FRANCIS TURNER SAT by the window of a room that overlooked the RangeMan building. It was dark, he was surrounded shadows, with just the streetlamps outside providing any light. His head had dropped forward, resting on his chest. He looked like he could be dozing off, peacefully drifting off into sleep. That was the impression that Smith had had when he peeked into the room.

Smith had been livid. They had come to capture the traitor who had stolen the drones, who had betrayed General Kinkaid. The signal that Hector had found led them right to him, and here he was. Smith would have loved to strangle the man with his bare hands, right here on the spot. It would serve the old guy right, how dare he claim to be the victim here. But Cal had stopped him, and had probably saved all of them in doing so.

Leaving Hector to keep his eye on Smith and Turner, Cal wanted to bring Morelli into this. It was protocol to call the police when the situation they found was not on RangeMan property, nor on the property of a client. He had just been happy to see that Morelli was still here so that he would not have to wait for the nearest patrol car cops. Time was of the essence right now.

Morelli nodded to Hector and Smith when they reached the room. He slowly opened the door, moving in as quietly as he could. They all had a good view of Turner now, and what they saw made them all stop and back out of the room.

Without hesitation, Morelli called in backup along with the paramedics and the bomb squad. This was turning out to be one hell of night, and Joe knew that he was not going home for a very long time.

Funny, the one thought that crossed his mind, as he waited in the street for the others to arrive, was relief. He found himself in dangerous situations fairly frequently, and when he was with Stephanie he always worried about how she would take it if one of these times he did not come home in one piece. All cops had these thoughts when they had loved ones waiting for them at home. As strange as it seemed, right now he felt free. The weight of the worry that he had carried for so long was lifted. He was not sure just what he thought about that. He'd have to save it for another time. The time to think was over when the first patrol cars rolled up.

THE STUPID DISGUISE had come in handy again. He had not intended to use it here, but those guys at RangeMan had to go and help Smith find his hiding place. Lucky for him, he was always prepared, and he always had a plan, with a back up plan. This was definitely plan 'B'. But it had been necessary, and setting up Turner had been the easiest thing in the world.

He snorted, the sound dully echoed in the dark room. They should know better than to mess with him, he thought. He looked over at the form of the woman in the shadows. She had been plan 'C', and he was still amazed at how she had just fallen right into his lap. It was always good to have an extra bit of insurance. Who knew what was going to happen when they found Turner and the little surprise that he had left with him.

The overwhelming urge to laugh was just barely suppressed. He doubted that anyone could hear him all the way in here, but no sense taking chances. Smith had underestimated him. Too bad, since there had actually been a time, back at the lab, that he really thought that they could have been friends. That had ended, of course, when he discovered the connection between Smith and the high and mighty general. No big deal, he told himself, he had never had friends, he really did not need them. He could do just fine on his own. But still he felt the loss and it made him angry. Just like he had felt as a kid.

He hated that feeling and it was all Smith's fault. He wondered if Smith would ever know that he would never had stolen the drones if they had been friends. He would never do that to a good friend. But Smith was like all the others. He was sad about that. He shook his head. 'Just like all the others' he repeated in his mind.

They had always called him a nerd. The tall boys, the big kids, the ones who probably still couldn't tie their own shoelaces. Ronald Feltzberger hated them all and had grown up with a huge chip on his shoulder. Being forced to defend himself both, intellectually and physically, had never gone very well for him, even as a child prodigy.

On nearly a daily basis, he would verbally spar with one of his antagonists only to see, once again, that they did not even have the brain capacity to understand the insults he had thrown out at them. On those occasions when the bullies just used their size and strength to attack him, he was always the one to lose. His childhood was a never ending series of humiliations and bruises. Occasionally, he even endured broken bones as a result of the assaults. Many things had changed for Ronald since then, but nothing was forgotten.

In the dim light of the small storage room, Feltzberger, now know as R. Faust to his colleagues and only as Deutch to his military buddies, sat crouched on the floor and examined the pinky finger on his right hand. After all these years, it still had a ball of cartilage that caused a bump above the knuckle. He almost laughed out loud, how many times had his mother told him that he would just grow into it, and one day he wouldn't even notice it anymore.

He actually did allow himself a small chuckle. Everything about that young nerdy kid had been completely changed. In a way, his mother had been right. He had grown. Long after school was over, his height finally topped at out 6'1". And thanks to hard work in the gym, along with some interesting supplements, his muscles became big and very strong. He was a new person, but Feltzberger still felt that he did not receive the recognition and respect that he deserved.

Smith did not seem to understand that. It was the number one reason that he could not be his friend. GlobalGas did not see it either. He had been working on their projects for three years now, had they ever once truly acknowledged his brilliance? The small plaque on the wall behind his desk barely compensated for the billions of dollars they were now making with his designs to improve the horizontal drilling controls.

When Kinkaid strolled through the facility last year, that was the last straw. How he hated the man. His whole career in the army was miserable because of him. No one, especially not the general, had seen that he had superior intellect to them. Instead, he had been treated the same as all the other men. But he had outsmarted them all. He played their games long enough let them pay for his education. His PhD bought him a place in GlobalGas. It was all he had wanted, to be away from bullies, away from the army, far from any reminders of his past. But how could it be, with the general still around? It was a good day when he discovered the one thing that could hurt the general more than anything else. His precious drones.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING? He couldn't seem to think clearly. His head was throbbing, and it took some effort to lift it to take a look around. It was dark. The room he was in was empty, at least the part that he could see. He didn't have any idea how he had come to be here. His thoughts seemed to jumped from one thing to another, never touching down on any answers, never letting him reason out what was going on.

The air was suddenly filled with disruptive noise. Sirens echoed in the room, vibrating in his head. The soft glow of the streetlights was destroyed with harsh flashes of red and blue, so bright it hurt his eyes. Turner tried to shield them with his hand, but he found that he could not move his arms. Closing his eyes to the offending lights, he wondered why his muscles felt so heavy and sore.

"Please," he pleaded, though he did not know if anyone could hear him. "Please help me."

Morelli met the officers as they arrived and shouted out orders. They would all have to stay in place until the bomb squad got here. He was taking no chances. Cal had warned him that Mr Turner had something on his lap. He had said that it looked like a sophisticated explosive device. When Joe had seen it, he had to agree. No matter what it was, he was calling in the experts to deal with it.

Turner could hear sounds behind him now. Someone was coming and all of a sudden he did not know if that was a good or bad thing. What if it was the person who had brought him here? What did they want with him? All this time he was worried about the terrorists who had forced their way into his home. He had hoped that the general was right when he said that they would never get to him, not at RangeMan. But who else could it be? Who would want to hurt him?

Panic was setting in, he could not move, and it seemed to be getting harder to breathe. Who was it, who was coming? He heard the murmur of voices, but not the words that they were saying. He felt the beads of sweat on his forehead. He had never been so scared.

"Mr. Turner," a voice behind him said. "I need you to keep absolutely still."

"Okay," he whispered. He felt, as much as heard, several people near him now. If he could only open his eyes he could see who they were, what they were doing. But it still hurt too much.

The men who were here with him started swearing. Turner tried again to open his eyes. Keeping his head down, to avoid the worst of the glare from the lights, he finally opened them just enough to see what he was holding. His hands seemed to be duct taped onto a silver metal box. In turn, the box was also taped to his legs and the chair that he sat in. Glowing right up at him was a digital timer. The numbers were blinking, but they were not changing. He didn't know what that meant, but Francis Turner knew he was in a whole lot of trouble.

"Shit," he repeated the word he had heard before. What else was there to say?

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	18. Chapter 18

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Chapter 18

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So Beyza wasn't here, Ranger had to say that he was not surprised. When he had seen the address, he had actually hoped that she wouldn't be here. It was possible, he thought, that she had found a way to take her family far away. It was a much better scenario than finding her here with the terrorists. She had fought against them for so long, he couldn't imagine that if she was here, that it would have been voluntarily, but who knows what happens with people.

Ranger also wondered what it would do to DJ if she saw that Beyza had changed. He had only know this woman for a few hours, but he could tell that she had a big heart. He would hate to see it broken over this. He shook his head, for both their sakes, he hoped that Beyza had done what she had always wanted and saved her family from the men who threatened to destroy her country.

Standing a step behind DJ, Ranger was still listening for any sounds from inside. DJ was at the door, calling out in Turkish, when he noticed the van. It caught his eye as it swerved off of the road and was now headed straight toward them, leaving them with almost no time to do anything.

"Go," he yelled at her. DJ looked back at Ranger in confusion. He was just a blur as she saw him moving toward her. Just before Ranger plowed through the door, pushing her through with him, she saw Aaron. He was running to her too, shouting and pointing. In another second, she could only hear the blast of a bomb exploding just a few feet away.

An overturned table became their shield, their only protection from the blast, but it proved to be enough. Ranger was halfway on top of her, to protect her, when they felt the powerful concussion of the blast. It seemed to shake her to her bones, and she did not dare move. She did not know if she even could. They stayed in place, hands over their heads to cover them from the falling debris, until Tank and Aaron pushed their way through the mess that had once been the front of the house. DJ felt herself being wrapped hastily, but gently in Aaron's embrace. His hands rubbed hers arms and shoulders. It was so comforting and she let herself melt into him.

She was okay, she knew she was. Her ears were ringing and she was covered with who knows what, but she was unharmed. Even so, DJ couldn't stop the fear that gripped her deep inside. She had told herself that she was over it. That the night terrors she had fought for all those years could no longer hurt her. But the truth was, right now, she was terrified. Over the years she had learned to hide it, only she knew that she could not completely control it.

Aaron felt her trembling. He did not know everything about the accident that had nearly killed her, he didn't have to. He knew that, at this moment, she was understandably shaken and his only thought was to get her out of here, to safety. Their truck was across the street and with a sharp jerk of his head, Aaron indicated that he was taking her over to it. Ranger agreed, he tossed him the keys, and watched them make their way out of the shambles of the house.

After a brief assessment to be sure that they were all safe and not bleeding, the rest of the team all stood in the middle of the room, surveying the damage. They conducted a search, looking to see if there had been anyone here when it happened. Ranger took some pictures with his phone and sent them to the general. This had been close. Whether it had been meant for them, or for the occupants of this house, he did not know, and he did not care. They had come to find Beyza, and he was more determined than ever that they should. She may have the key they needed to finish their job.

WAKING FROM STRANGE dreams was starting to become a bad habit, one she was not at all happy with. This time she had been at the beach, Point Pleasant had always been an escape for her and she was there again, walking along the edge of the water. The tide gently washed over her feet before receding into the ocean and forming new larger waves. As they gradually got bigger and bigger, the roar of the ocean became deafening. To the point that it woke her up. Stephanie opened her eyes, peering into the semi darkness. The sounds did not stop, they still seemed to be pounding her head.

With effort she tried to sit up. A wave of nausea hit her and she laid back again. This was not good. The ocean growled at her again, this time it was right next to her. Her mind could not quite work that out. Something was very, very wrong. Stephanie decided to lay still and pray that the sickness would pass, but she held no hope that it would. She remembered that she had been pricked when the man had shoved her into this room. If she had been drugged, she was going to feel like she had a hangover. And there was only one cure that she knew of that would bring her out of it easily. But Stephanie was pretty sure that was not an option this time.

Something had to be done though, the noise in here was giving her a massive headache. She had to stop it somehow. How do you stop the roar of the ocean, something inside of her asked. Remnants of the dream clung to her, she could not seem to break free of it. The overwhelming feeling of sadness, loneliness, and hurt that she had felt still seemed to pound in on her in waves of emotions. She wanted to attribute it all to the sickness she was experiencing. That could be one answer, but she did not believe it to be the only one. Unfortunately, she could not put into words what she thought it might be. Thinking this hard seemed to be hurting her brain too. Stephanie took a slow, deep breath. If she stayed very still, it didn't feel as bad.

When she heard the low growling sounds again, she carefully turned her head toward it. Mr. Turner was slumped next to her. No, that was not right, her muddled brain corrected her. It was the pretend Turner that was sitting on the floor next to her. With his back against the wall, and his arms draped over his raised knees, the man had fallen asleep. His head hung down, and Stephanie realized that it had been his snoring that had woken her up.

She was instantly angry. Of course not because he had woken her up, though in some circumstances that would have been enough, right now her memories of his dragging her here was enough. And she did not even know where here was. How dare he do this to her. Why had he? She didn't know the real Turner, so she certainly didn't know this one either. Why was this happening to her? She was pissed off and confused and sick. Though she had every right to be mad, now that she was awake, she wanted to try to figure out what was going on. Her righteous indignation would be put away for later.

With what she could see, Stephanie figured that they were in a storage room somewhere. There were no windows, so she had no clue if it was still night time. The calm that she had tried to channel suddenly deserted her, her heart pounded in panic as too many questions continued to bombard her mind. How long had she been here. What was happening with Ranger, with Cal, with Joe? Did Binky know that she was gone? Did anyone? Her clues would be useless if they did not even know she had been taken away. The hysteria rising in her gut was making her feel worse, so she tried to quiet herself down.

'What would Ranger do?' The idea popped into her mind and a sense of comfort came over her. Stephanie smiled, the answer was easy. He would check out his surroundings, and then he would figure out a way to use what he found, and that was exactly what she needed to do.

"Okay, okay," she whispered, 'lets do this' she thought. With a minimum of movement, she looked around, surveying the darkened room. Besides the man sleeping next to her, she could see a backpack, a box of what looked to be food supplies, and the lantern style flashlight that provided the small circle of dim light.

'Well, Batman,' she thought, 'what do you think we can do with a box of crackers and a can of spray cheese. Stephanie shuddered at the thought. Her diet was not all that great most of the time, but even she had drawn the line on cheese in a can. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

"No... no," The man said these words in such a pained tremor, Stephanie swung her head and stared at him. The movement did nothing for her headache, but there was something so sad about this man, she could not help but wonder what had happened to him. His shoulders were curved in a protective slump, and his head moved from side to side as if he was trying to shake away his tormentors.

It was heartbreaking to see this big, strong man in such distress. Stephanie assumed that he was stuck in a nightmare, and she agonized over what to do. She had heard that sometimes it was a bad idea to wake a person too suddenly. The shock could end up being be worse than the bad dream they were having. She knew nothing about him. It was bad enough that what she did know was that he had kidnapped and drugged her. What could he do if she woke him?

Having absolutely no experience with this kind of thing, she could only use her common sense to figure the best way to deal with this situation. If Ranger, or any of her friends at RangeMan were suffering, she knew she would do whatever she could to help him. For some reason she was feeling the same way about this man. With the condition that she was still in, she did the only thing she could think of.

"So close, no matter how far," she sang the words softly. It was the only song she could think of at the spur of the moment.

"Couldn't be much more from the heart." A little Metallica couldn't hurt. Right?

"Forever trusting who we are." Stephanie saw that he had stopped moving, she hoped that was a good thing.

"And nothing else matters."

After the first verse, she started humming the tune in a voice that was barely loud enough to hear. But it seemed to be working. Slowly he raised his head and looked into her eyes. Stephanie held her breath. Oh, how she hoped that she had not messed everything up by waking him.

Her eyes were wide, but she held his gaze. He sat up, leaning back against the wall. His elbows were still on his knees as he pressed his fingers to his face, all the time staring into her eyes. He took a deep breath, but still he didn't say anything.

NO ONE WAS allowed to stay on the third floor while the bomb technicians went to work on the device attached to Turner. Cal felt bad about that, he hated to leave the old guy alone, but they had no choice. While he was at it, Cal was feeling a bit bad for barging into Stephanie's meeting with Joe Morelli too. He had not meant for any of this to happen this way today. Still he wanted to tell her he was sorry.

Binky was back at the desk when he came to the door. Cal knew that it wouldn't be long now until his shift was over and someone would take over for him. He could see that he was readying his paperwork so that he could take off just as soon as his replacement got here.

Cal turned to take one more glance at the window across the street. He hoped that everything worked out alright for Mr. Turner. It sure didn't look like it was going to be good, not with the street still filled with police vehicles with their lights flashing.

Suddenly a blue light reflected off of something on the sidewalk. Curious, Cal walked over to check it out. He picked it up with wide eyes. He knew exactly what this was, but he had no idea how it would have ended up there. He pushed the door open and hurried inside.

"'B'," he said hurriedly, "Where did Steph go?"

Binky thought for a moment. "I don't know, really. After Joe left with you, she didn't seem to hang around for long. She's probably upstairs."

He was probably right, but Cal was not feeling good about this. He grabbed the phone and called Ranger's apartment. No answer. He called again, still nothing. Without hesitation, he pulled his cell phone out and called her cell phone. It too went unanswered. Damn! he thought. He needed to know.

Thinking that she may have turned off the phones to get some rest, he told himself that he was not going to panic until he found out for sure what was going on. He took the elevator up to the seventh floor, telling himself the whole way that everything was probably alright. It would make sense that she had gone to bed, and he was going to be guilty of interrupting her again tonight, but he had to, just to be sure. No answers to his knocks did not do anything to help his already jangled nerves.

He had to get inside, god help him, he needed to know that she was okay. Taking a deep breath, he tapped the electronic reader by the side of the door. Green letters came onto the screen. "ENTER CODE" it prompted. Cal punched in six numbers, the code that the team had memorized in case of an emergency. Cal considered this to fit that description, so as soon as the door clicked, he pushed it open.

"Steph?" he called out. "Stephanie are you here?" Cal moved through the rooms, hesitating a moment before barging through the bedroom door. "Steph?" There was still no answer, so he opened the door and checked the last room in the apartment. How he wished that he had been standing here foolishly looking at a sleepy Stephanie being wakened from a good dream. It would have felt a whole lot better than this empty feeling that was quickly being filled with dread.

Where was she? What was happening to her? He shook his head, there was no time for speculation, but he was sure now that something had happened. Without another word, he ran to the stairwell and raced down as quickly as he could. Binky was gone when he got down to the front office. It was Woody who looked up at him from the desk.

"What's up big 'C'?" he asked, a second before Cal pushed through the door and ran outside.

Okay, this was not right. Woody watched as Cal turned on a flashlight and scanned the sidewalk outside of the doors. He seemed to find something, he bent over and picked it up. When he kept looking and moving farther down the sidewalk, Woody knew there was definitely something wrong. He called Rodriguez and reported what he knew. Then he moved to the door and stepped outside just in time to see Cal turning the corner.

Within minutes, Rodriguez and three more men were pushing past Woody. "Cal is down there," he said, pointing out the direction that he had gone. "He was following something, and he just turned the corner."

The men all nodded and ran at full speed after Cal. They caught up with him sooner than they expected. Turning the corner the found themselves grinding to a halt before they knocked him over. Cal looked up at them.

"The trail ended," he said, frustration and dismay evident in his words. He held up his open hand, showing them what he had found. The key, the chapstick, and the paperclip seemed to be an odd collection, and the guys waited for his explanation. "I found these dropped on the sidewalk," he told them. "But I can't find anything else."

Rodriguez nodded. He ordered the men to spread out and keep searching. He turned back to Cal. "What do you think happened?" he asked him.

Cal only shook his head. "I have no clue. Stephanie was talking to Morelli that last time I saw her." Rodriguez raised an eyebrow. "No," Cal answered the implied inquiry. "She looked very happy."

Walking around the same area again, Cal took a deep breath. All he saw was a door. Nothing else stood out on the whole building. In fact, he thought , it was the only thing here, no windows or other doors were in this side of the building. Funny, he had never noticed that before. "What is this building?" he asked Rodriguez. All he got was a blank face. He did not know either.

Just then, a phone buzzed in someones pocket, and they both pulled out their phones. The call was for Cal, who answered it with the standard "Yo."

"It's Hector," he said to Rodriguez. "He wants me to go back to the scene with Turner."

He seemed reluctant to leave the search for Stephanie, so Rodriguez assured him that he and the guys would be here, looking for anything that would lead them to her. Cal nodded and hurried back down the street.

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	19. Chapter 19

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Chapter 19

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Dark hooded eyes stared down at the chaos below. Twenty four hours ago, this had been a simple mission. In and out. The man, who was simply known as Oersted, took out his binoculars and searched the top of the building one more time. This position, across from the RangeMan building had been perfect, that is what he had been told. Right now it was anything but. In fact, things were about as bad as they could get.

Though politics had never been his game. He did understand orders and commands. He was the best damn soldier to ever to come out of Gnadenhutten, Ohio. Oersted almost smiled at that thought. The town was so small, it was barely on the map. But all the same, the very old school people of the town considered it quite an honor. If he ever went home again, they would probably throw a parade for him.

Of course, that would never really happen. The Curt Oerstreightener that they knew was gone, and Oersted did not exist to them. There were no records of him, or his activities. That was just the way it was. He operated better this way.

He shook his head, he was usually so pragmatic and efficient. Thoughts like this were uncharacteristic. They were just another indication to him that this mission had gone to hell in a hand-basket, and he was hard pressed to know what he could do to save it.

The checklist of problems had started with instructions to steal a drone from GlobalGas. His directives always came in the form of a phone calls on burner phones. He never asked why, he simply followed orders. Hopscotching across Europe and bringing the drone to play spy games in Trenton New Jersey is what he had been told to do. So here he was.

His skills allowed him to carry out all kinds of assignments. By the time he had done several tasks with the drone, he was proficient and ready for the main event here. But right now, he was wondering why all of this was happening to him. In and out, he repeated. It was that simple, in theory, but nothing had gone according to plan since he set foot in this stupid building.

After using the drone to attach the cables in the control box, things started to go wrong. And although he knew how to use the small robot, Oersted did not know how to fix it when it malfunctioned.

Which is exactly what it did, it was the only explanation. Turning off and on by itself, snapping pictures, making recordings, lifting off the table and hovering all around the room. None of these things were supposed to be done without the remote control.

Well, it would be nice if the control would actually work the way it was supposed to. It had functioned properly when he was in Europe, but something happened when he got here. After numerous attempts to get a message to his contact, Oersted had stopped trying. He was done with it all. If no one contacted him soon, he was packing up and leaving.

That was, after the commotion down in the street was finally gone. There was no way to sneak out with all of the police activity. And Oersted never took unnecessary chances. So he remained trapped, and he watched and he waited.

THEY WASTED NO time getting back to the base. Aaron still had DJ in his arms, and was insisting that they get medical attention for her immediately. Tank recommended the same for Ranger. So when they passed through the gates, that was where Tank headed first. Despite assurances that she was fine, DJ allowed Aaron to usher her into the infirmary. It felt good to let someone that she cared about take care of her.

As she sat on the paper covered table, she thought of the last explosion she had experienced. How different it all was. What she remembered from the accident several years ago, was sketchy. But what she did know, for certain, was that after it happened, she had been alone. Not in the sense that she was the only person there, but rather the feeling that no one had been concerned for her. The men, whose lives she had saved, walked away leaving her for dead. She had helplessly laid in the wreckage feeling herself slip away. All alone.

A tear slipped down her cheek. Those memories needed to be completely put away now. With Aaron by her side, she knew that she would never be alone again. DJ was not surprised by that revelation. The warmth that she felt in her heart when she was with him was all she needed to understand how much he was coming to mean to her. And his actions proved that he was here for her, always. Letting Aaron Gutierrez into her life was exactly what she needed, and she was never going to let him go!

He had lost her. Over and over in his mind, Aaron replayed the explosion. The van sped down the street and screeched to a halt blocking his view of DJ. Seconds later, the van and the front of the house was reduced to rubble. He did not stop running to her, and amid the falling fragments, he searched for evidence of what had happened to her. His heart had nearly stopped in the panic that gripped him. He had just found her, he couldn't lose her, but he couldn't imagine how she could have survived that blast. For several seconds, that felt like an eternity, he was afraid that she was gone, and he knew his life was over too.

Was it a slight movement or a groan that grabbed his attention? He did not know, all he needed to remember was the moment when he saw her hiding behind that table. Until he saw her move, his whole world had been about to fall apart. Pulling DJ into his arms put the pieces back together forever.

Now that he had DJ in his life, he was never going to let her go. If the intensity of his feelings for her surprised him he gave no notice. It felt good, and it felt right to be with her. That was all he had to know and Aaron intended to spend the rest of his life showing her how much she had come to mean to him. It did not matter that they had only just met. He knew how he felt, DJ MIller was his world.

HECTOR WAS SHAKING his head when Cal arrived. Turner was surrounded by the bomb squad and Cal was surprised that so many people were in this room now, including himself.

"What's the situation?" Cal asked, still trying to get a look at Turner, and figure out what was going on.

"The device is a dummy," Morelli said. "It was elaborate and well executed, but there are no explosives in the box." Joe was shaking his head. It did not make any sense that someone would go to this much trouble. Why would anyone make such a realistic device, drag Turner here, and make it appear that his life was in jeopardy?

Wordlessly they watched, as the experts they had called here to defuse a bomb, calmly set Turner free and took everything apart. Smith stayed close, he wanted to be sure that there was absolutely nothing to be worried about. This whole situation was so odd. He did not like it one bit.

Turner was completely shaken up. Leaning up against the wall was the only way he was not dropping to the ground. His muscles continued to feel heavy and weak. Once he had been released from that chair, he had tried to walk out of here on his own. He had always prided himself on being independent when it came to his physical limitation. He had become an expert on keeping his deformity hidden, limping so slightly that it was barely noticeable. But under the circumstances, he just might have to accept assistance to get back to the RangeMan building.

He closed his eyes, he was still seeing the image of staring at himself in the garage. It had been surreal and haunting, and had been plaguing his drug induced dreams ever since. The past several months had felt like a nightmare. It was almost funny, he had lived his whole life without much trouble. Sixty-six uneventful years that had seemed normal and boring. To think that there had been times when he had complained, about the fact that nothing ever happened to him, now made him want to laugh. If this is what could happen, he would take boring and normal and uneventful any day of the week.

Joe came over and escorted Turner down the stairs to sit in one of the patrol cars. The moment he tried to help him into the back seat of a car, Turner objected. He did not want to be unreasonable, but he did not feel safe out here in the open. Kinkaid had sent him here for a reason, and now he was determined to follow his instructions to the T.

"Is there anyway I can give you my statement in that building," he asked, looking over at the red brick building where he could see several of Ranger's men going in and out of the double glass doors.

Nodding his head, Joe led Turner to the same conference room that he had been in a short time ago. Funny that his evening had ended back in this room. Everything looked exactly the same. But he knew that nothing would be the same ever again. He remembered thinking that he was different somehow after their talk, and coming back in here let him know that it was true. Everything had changed.

Joe was surprised to see the man looking at him curiously, and he realized that his thoughts had pulled him away from what he was supposed to be doing. He shook of the remnants of the melancholy that he felt, and pulled his notebook from his pocket. Turner answered his questions the best that he could, not offering any information that he did not already know. So when Smith appeared in the doorway, he let Turner go and went through the whole process with Smith as well.

When he was alone again, Joe took one last look around. Everything had changed. He left the room and walked out of the building, never looking back.

STEPHANIE WATCHED AS Ron squirted a pile of cheese on another cracker and popped into his mouth. She held a clump of grapes in her hand. Eating one at a time, she realized that a healthy snack had never tasted so good to her. Grudgingly, she admitted that she was starting to feel better. The headache had eased, and her stomach had settled down. Who knew that real food could cure her just as well, if not better than the coke and fries she had been wishing for not that long ago. She just might have to give Ranger's diet a try one of these days.

A lump in her throat made swallowing hard all of a sudden. She really missed him, and she was hoping that he was okay. She really needed to know if he was. A fleeting, but horrible feeling had come over her, feeling her with an emptiness that she could barely endure. Though it had passed, she could not forget it, and all she could think about was how much she needed to tell Ranger that she loved him.

With some effort, she turned her attention back to the man she now knew as Ron Faust. She had started him talking about himself after waking him from a bad dream, and she couldn't help but feel that he was like a big lost and lonely kid. There were qualities about him that reminded her of her friends at Rangeman. And her heart went out to him.

"We should probably go now," she said. He looked up at her and nodded. It wasn't part of his plan, but he was feeling tired now, and he didn't want to be here anymore. Stephanie was nice, he liked her, and he trusted her. There had been very few people in his life that he had been able to trust, that had always been his problem.

"They will be mad at me," he stated bluntly. He had no illusions that it could be any other way.

Stephanie nodded, he was right. They would be angry and protective of her, she knew that for a fact. And that was when a solution came to her mind. "Ron, do you have my phone?" she asked. It had been in her back pocket, but she had been unable to reach it when he grabbed her. Now it was gone, and she hoped that he had found it.

Relief made her smile when he handed it to her. "It was on the floor," he said simply. Stephanie took it from him and almost panicked again when she saw that it was turned off. She hoped that it had not been broken when it fell. A few seconds later, she started breathing easier when it powered back on. She scrolled down her contact list. It surprised her to see that while she had the office numbers, she only had cell numbers for Ranger and Tank, who were out of the country, and for Rodriguez. He was her only hope, she punched the button and prayed that he would answer.

THEIR SEARCH SEEMED futile, Vince and Bones had been down to the end of the block and back twice without finding anything that looked like a clue from Stephanie. Rodriguez had been keeping his search near the door in the wall. Unfortunately, the lighting was not great along this street, and even with high powered flashlights, they knew it would be easy to miss what they were looking for.

That knowledge did nothing to make them feel, and they were starting to feel the panic of not being able to find her. They were back at the door with Rodriguez when Cal found them again.

After talking with Hector and Smith, Cal had given his statement to the police, and finally made it back to help with the search. He was sick inside to know that they had still not found Stephanie.

"The building had been vacant for over a year," he said, looking at the door again. The perfect place to hide, he thought. He was ready to break down the steel fire door when he heard something. Was it behind the door?

The phone in his pocket buzzed and Rodriguez was annoyed. Who would be calling him right now? It was the middle of the night. He looked at the screen and froze. It was then that he heard the noise too, and after exchanging confused looks with Cal, they both stared at the door again.

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	20. Chapter 20

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Chapter 20

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It was nearly four in the morning, and sleep was the last thing on his mind. Hector was back in his own office surrounded by his tools and equipment as he examined every inch of the damaged robot. He needed to find every single clue that he could on the outside of it before he started taking the thing apart. He unconsciously shrugged at that thought. He had not been able to even try to get clearance from the general to actually disassemble the thing, and he could guess that he would probably never get it. But he could hope.

Hector actually understood it if he couldn't take it apart. There would be no going back once it was opened, and that was a decision he did have to leave to the boss. But

how he would love to get his hands on it. Especially to see how they had solved the equilibrium stability issues. Most robotics worked because they could balance on a firm flat surface, getting one to hover and still have the ability to maintain stasis was an incredible achievement.

Without the remote, to control the functions, Hector wasn't sure there was much he could do to get the answers he wanted. One thing was for certain, the birds on the roof were responsible for the damage he could see. Beside throwing off its balance, and causing it to crash, he could see that the robotic arms and the antennae had been scraped and scratched by what he imagined to be sharp beaks and talons. One bird may not have been able to do much to it, but their little flock now numbered about twenty, and had to imagine that they had all attacked it together. Who knows how much more damage they could have done if Stephanie had not found it when she did.

RON FELTZBERGER HOPED that Stephanie was right. She said if he gave himself up, her friends would be more than fair with him. He knew what he would do in their place and he was not so certain. But she assured him that she would stay by him, and help him talk to them.

She knew that he had some information that they guys would be very interested in. It was now her job to see to it that they work together so that they could use what they had to find the real threat to Kinkaid and Smith. Stephanie could not help but think that Ranger needed to hear it as soon as possible too, but she still had no idea when that would be.

While the phone call was connecting, Stephanie stood up and picked up the backpack. "Let's get out of here," she said.

He nodded and hoisted the box in his arms, all of his supplies were coming with him, he did not want to come back here again. Ron looked at Stephanie, she was insisting that she could carry his backpack, as she slipped her arms through the straps. At first he objected, his first instinct was always to be protective of his stuff. It was a hard habit to break. But one look in her eyes made him change his mind. She looked so determined. Since it was not too heavy, he was pretty sure she could handle it. And he admitted to himself that it might be a good idea if she was the one carrying it when they met her friends. Ron opened the door and led the way back through the hallways.

After making the call, it occurred to Stephanie that they may not be able to get good reception inside of this building. The time it took to connect the call seemed to support her worry. She held her phone up to her ear with one hand, and let the other hand rest on Ron's shoulder, so that he could lead them out.

It finally started ringing and Stephanie anxiously waited. "Come on," she said under her breath. "Pick up Rodriguez."

She could not see much in the dark, but Ron seemed to have no trouble at all. Just another one of his skills he had told her. He could tell that she didn't like the dark, so he moved them through the halls as quickly as he could. Ron could not not put into words how it made him feel to know that she was trusting him. One day maybe he would try, but for now, he let himself enjoy the warm feeling that filled his chest.

That feeling started to waver when they reached the door.

"We made it," he said with an unsure smile. "Its up to you now."

Stephanie could tell that he was worried about what could happen when they opened that door and found the guys. She understood, but she had promised to make things right for everyone, and that is what she would do. She had been thinking so hard, she was almost startled when she heard the sound in her ear.

"Stephanie?" Rodriguez said in disbelief, "Where are you?"

JOE RETURNED TO talk with the officer now in charge. A sweep of the building was under way, being jointly conducted with his guys and the bomb squad. It had already been a very long night, but there was no way that they could leave the premises without checking to be sure that the dummy bomb they had found with Turner had not just been a decoy.

It would have been nice to have a suspect, or even a motive, to help them figure this whole thing out. But his friend Barnes, on the bomb squad, was the best there was, and Joe knew that it was his job to think of every crazy scenario that could happen, in order to avoid them all. If anything else was in there, Barnes would find it.

The events of the night were taking their toll on him and Joe felt bone tired. The emotional start to the whole evening was not forgotten, and he hoped that Stephanie was alright. She seemed to be when he left her. He hoped she was, but their talk had ended so abruptly, he knew that it all could have been a little strange for her. His worries aside, he knew that they had done the right thing, now they could both get on with their lives.

Just then Barnes called him over. Joe shook off his fatigue and was once again distracted from his thoughts. It would be a long time yet before he could sit and think about all of the things that had happened here tonight.

IN EVERY business, there were secrets. The military was no exception, and as an assistant to a general, Terry Jones knew more of them than most. Truth be told, Jones had a secret or two himself. And he was very good at keeping them hidden. Though everyone he knew thought that he was working in the operations office for General Kinkaid, that was only his cover. He was covertly under the direction of Kinkaid's least favorite person in the world.

General Daegel was the man Jones answered to. It was an arrangement that has served both men well for almost a year now. Jones liked his role as mole and informant. His position afforded him a front row seat to the clashes between Daegel and Kinkaid, and he loved watching the fireworks. He had no loyalties of his own, Jones was not that kind of man. He did not care about the disagreement that Daegel had had with Kinkaid years ago. The fact that the animosity had stayed with Daegel as he had moved up the ranks with Kinkaid was his own business. He did not care that Daegel, a four star general in his own right, had never been a compared favorably to the man he had long considered to be his rival. None of that mattered.

Jones was in it for the money, and it had proven to be incredibly lucrative. He was paid handsomely to pass sensitive information to Daegel. It was the only reason he put up with what he considered to be such childish behavior between the two grown men. Never mind that it was his own interference that spurred them on most of the time.

Like Oersted, Jones was not at all interested in the politics behind the actions of either general. His bottom line was the size of his bank account. His job in the office may have seemed cushy to those looking on, but make no mistake about it, Jones worked hard for the money. Times like tonight were stressful, he could not afford for things to go wrong.

The general had left the country. Jones was not happy about the unscheduled excursion, it meant that he did not know any of the details, and since that was what he got paid for, he was looking very bad right now. He was scrambling to get a handle on the information that he needed. Tracking the general was usually such an easy thing, but he had been up all night and had gotten absolutely nowhere yet.

To make the situation worse, Daegel had Oersted playing with Kinkaid's toys. It had been fun arranging for the theft of the drones. But now Oersted was in Jersey, complaining that the drones were malfunctioning and chomping on the bit to come home. But he couldn't. Not yet! He had not done the job that he needed to do.

Though he had not been asked to make the arrangements, Jones knew that Kinkaid was working with Ranger Manoso again. He just didn't know why, and for some reason the general was being extremely tight-lipped about it. Daegel wanted that information, Manoso's team had been retired for nearly a year now, and he needed to know why he was back on the radar.

Daegel had had the idea to use the drones, that he had been hearing about, to tap into Manoso's communication systems. If they couldn't get the information they wanted from Kinkaid, maybe they could get it from Ranger side. In their haste to put their plan into action, neither Daegel nor Jones had ever considered the possibility that their idea might not work.

GENERAL KINKAID WAITED for the team to arrive at the undisclosed location. The surreptitious meeting was needed to protect them as much as hide the general's presence.

"You better sit down," Kinkaid said. "I've just talked with Rodriguez."

That got their attention. They were still in blackout mode. And if Kinkaid had been in touch with RangeMan, there must have been some trouble. Everyone in the room quickly found a place to sit. In the few minutes before the general spoke again, imaginations were let loose and all kinds of scenarios played out in their minds.

The hour he had spent, with Stephanie sleeping in his arms, immediately occupied Ranger's thoughts. He had kept that memory close, thinking of her every chance that he got. Knowing that he would be going home to her was the motivation he had needed to even agree to this mission. He held on tight to her image, the way it felt to hold her, the look in her eyes when she promised to stay safe, the sound of her voice when she had said 'I love you'. These were his and no one was going to take them away from him.

"There are a few things going on that you need to be aware of," Kinkaid spoke evenly, the tone of his voice gave no clues to the seriousness of the situation.

"First," he said. "There has been a bomb scare in the building across from yours." This raised a few eyebrows, but everyone kept silent, waiting for more information. They were stunned to see that there was none forthcoming. "It is under control, and being looked into by the Trenton Police department." That was all he said about it. Then his eyes landed on Ranger. He detected something in his look that seemed to already know what he was going to say.

"You know?" he asked him. Ranger nodded. A feeling deep inside told him that something had happened to Stephanie. He had not wanted to believe it, but now he could no longer ignore it.

"Stephanie," Ranger said simply. Kinkaind nodded. He swallowed and cleared his throat so that he could continue and fill them in with what he knew about the abduction.

When a phone rang just then, everyone looked at the general. He held up one finger as he answered it. They saw the smile that curved his lips. And if it were possible, they saw the weight, of the bad news he'd been about to share, evaporate before their eyes.

"She has been located," he said. "And she seems to have found someone to answer some of our pressing questions."

Ranger's heart sang. 'See, I told you she was going to be alright' it said to him. All he could think of now was getting home to her. Once she was back in his arms, he was never going to let her go ever again.

OERSTED WAS packed up and ready to go. Not having received an answer from Jones yet, he intended to be gone as soon as he could see that the police had left. He watched a few of the patrol cars turn their lights off and slowly move down the street. It was about time. How many hours had he been trapped up here? Jones was going to hear about this.

He liked his assignments to run smoothly. The arrangements, that Jones made for him, usually made that possible. And truly, he was shocked at the number of things that had gone wrong for him here. He would have loved to blame Jones for it, but he was not sure that he could have controlled any of it anyway. There just seemed to be something else behind it all, he could feel it. His instincts told him to get the hell out. His instincts were always right.

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	21. Chapter 21

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Chapter 21

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Three deadbolts locks had been installed on this door. It had been one of the reasons Feltzberger had chosen this building to hide in. That and the fact that it seemed to be in the middle of an abandoned remodel job so there was no one was around, made it the perfect place. Ron reached up to slide open the lock at the top of the door, while Stephanie took care of both the deadbolt near the doorknob and the lock on the knob itself. She stepped back and he bent to open the one at the bottom of the door. Someone had been serious about not letting anyone in here, and it still made Ron smile. Not even he had always been this paranoid.

Any trace of a smile faded quickly as he contemplated what he was going to find on the other side of that door. Stephanie looked up at him and grabbed one of his hands in both of hers. "This is going to be okay," she said with a smile. How he wanted to believe her.

Keeping hold on his hand, she reached out and turned the knob. She had told Rodriguez that she was coming out with Ron. It would have been impossible to explain everything on the phone, so she didn't even try. Instead she got his promise to let her take Ron back to RangeMan without any interference from him or the men she knew were probably standing with him. They would all know everything soon enough.

The door opened slowly, Rodriguez stepped back. Cal stood his ground, though he knew what Rodriguez had promised, he was going to stay close to her from the second Stephanie walked through that door. The other men seemed to have the same thoughts and they stood as still as statues as they saw Stephanie appear in the doorway.

Immediately her smile beamed at them. "Its so good to see you!" she gushed. One arm curved around Cal's neck, and she whispered into his ear. If he was surprised with what she said, he did not show it. Instead he smiled and hugged her back, very conscious of the fact that she was holding hands with the man he wanted to hurt, badly.

Ron moved out with Stephanie, grateful for the control he could see in the faces of each of the men surrounding them. As a former military man himself, he could appreciate the effort it was taking for them to honor their agreement with Stephanie.

Vince looked him in the eye and reached for the box, he nodded at Ron before he took it. Ron gave him a short nod of acknowledgement. They were all going to play this out just as Stephanie said. And that amazed him. In the short time he had spent with her, he had found Stephanie to be the most genuine person he had ever met. It was impossible not to like her, and he could sense the same feeling in each of the men here. She had called them her friends, how lucky they were, he thought. There was nothing as precious or valuable as a friend, especially a friend like Stephanie Plum.

As they started to make their way back to RangeMan, Stephanie and Ron were enclosed in a protective circle. They all moved forward quickly and were ushered into the conference room. Stephanie smiled. When she had left earlier, she had thought that she was done with this room. Now here they were again. Was it really only about six hours ago that she had closed the door after watching Joe run out of here? Tucking those thoughts away, she pointed to a chair for Ron to sit in. He sat, and she handed his backpack to him before taking the seat next to his.

Nodding at him, she smiled. "Just tell them what you told me," she said. She covered his hands that were now on the table in front of him. She could see that they were clenched together so tight that his knuckles had turned white. "Just relax," she said, giving his hands a little squeeze. He looked up at her and attempted a smile. Then he turned his attention to the men who were now seated at the table, and were staring at them.

"I work at GlobalGas, in Nicosia," he started slowly in a low voice that shook slightly with the fear he felt. Again, Stephanie squeezed his hand and he continued. "There was all kinds of commotion when Smith had to leave, someone stole one of the drones that I had been working on."

Ron put his hand under the table and leaned just slightly to his right. Immediately every man in the room stood. The sudden motion pushing their chairs to slam against the walls behind them. In a split instant, guns were drawn and pointed at him.

Whoa!" Stephanie held her hands up and stared down the guys. "None of that," she said as she helped Ron pull his backpack onto the table so that they could see that all he was doing was getting it out because he had something that he wanted to show them.

Reluctantly they all sat back in their seats, but the guns remained on the table in front of them. Ron cringed a little at the stupid move he'd made. These were ex-military men, he could tell that about them the moment he had seen them. Of course, reaching for something out of their sight was going to alarm them.

"Sorry," he said in a chastised tone of voice. He placed the remote for his one of his drones on the table. "I understand that you found my little robot," he said. "May I see it?"

BRIGADIER GENERAL Scott Adams closed the door of the room he had just left and nodded curtly at the guards stationed next to it. He took in a deep breath before he turned and walked down the hall. "This is not a damned hotel," he muttered under his breath. But still, he had his orders. And, at the moment, they included giving sanctuary and protection to the family of Turkish refugees that had just been brought here.

Adams was particularly irritated that the only person, out of the whole group, who would talk to him was a young woman who looked younger than his own daughter. He was not used to seeing people like her in a position of authority and it irked him. As much as he did not want to admit it, however, she did exude a certain air of competence and even power. That was probably what bothered him the most. He knew that she was perfectly capable of speaking with him, but she refused. She said that there were only two people that she wanted to see. She would give her answers to them because she trusted them.

Unfortunately, the man she mentioned had retired from working with the military a year ago, and he had not seen the woman she wanted in over three years. Until her name was mentioned, Adams had not thought about her for a very long time. He was getting slightly uncomfortable to have to be thinking about her now, but he could not stop his memories from surfacing again.

After a year of her constant reports and requests to him about one of the local rebels, he had sent Senior Airman DJ Miller to Germany, practically in a body bag. If she had survived her injuries, which he sorely doubted, he did not know about it. Now he was feeling more that a little bit of frustration and concern.

The general had not asked him to interview these people. His orders had been to provide them with room and board until further notice. But Adams would be damned if he was going to sit here and let these people take advantage of his hospitality without his knowing why they were here. It had been an easy enough proposition. Kinkaid did not tell him what was going on, so he figured that he could go in and find out from the rebel themselves. He had not considered the possibility that they would not be willing to talk to him.

That made him angry, but what really steamed him was the fact that he could do absolutely nothing about it. If he wanted to know anything from them, he had to produce Ranger or Miller. And that, he knew, was impossible.

HOW MANY PEOPLE did the cops have in here? The building suddenly seemed to be swarming with men in uniforms. Oersted had been watching as they took a man away in an ambulance, and he had assumed that it would all be over after that. He had even seen patrol cars leaving, clearing out the street that had been blocked off temporarily. So where were all of these people coming from?

A little reconnaissance work showed that these policemen were systematically moving from room to room, and from floor to floor. They were clearing the whole building. It would not take long, he knew, for them to find his hiding place.

He travelled light, so gathering his things, and erasing evidence of his being here would not take long, but there was no place for him to go. Oersted was irritated that it had come to this. Another thing to go wrong. What next. And still no word from Jones.

If he had just left when he should have, this would not be his problem. But waiting on Jones had kept him here. If he got out of this, he vowed that Jones was going to answer for this.

SMITH FOUND his way to Hector's office. With a tap on the door, he entered and stared at the mangled black box. Having only taken a step into the room, he looked at Hector as if to ask permission to pass.

Hector waved him in. It might be good to have another set of eyes to look over the drone. He handed him pair of plastic gloves and pointed out a few things that he had discovered. Smith nodded and let Hector finish his explanation.

The small device looked like it had been beaten. Smith was shocked by the damage. He was used to seeing it in pristine condition in the labs at GlobalGas, where he had last seen it. This was one of three prototype models, and despite the abuse it had taken, he could see the modification that had been done on the arms. This model had rubber tipped pincers with intricate grips. Smith was impressed, and he wondered if this was the improvement that Faust was telling him about just days before it had been stolen.

He felt sick to know that someone had done this to his baby. It had been several years in the making. So many hours of working out every detail. This had been the best part of working with Kinkaid at GlobalGas. He'd had access to a full lab, and the benefit of collaborating with the smartest inventors in the world. He and Faust had turned a dream list of ideas into a viable product in their spare time. And though it had been a long way from being perfect, it was a dream come true.

For a moment, Smith wondered how Faust was taking the fact that the drone had been stolen. There had not been time to talk to him personally before Kinkaid sent him to track it, and he just hoped that Faust understood that he had done all he could to get it back. His friend had as much time and effort invested in it as he did, and Smith knew it wouldn't be easy for him to see this happen to it.

Hector turned the robot around and tilted it so that they could see the bottom. There were cameras on every side, and the lenses on the bottom were shattered, but the rest were in pretty good shape. The camera systems were the brainchild of Faust. He had developed an intricate design that had proven to be too complicated for the size and weight that they needed to allow it to fly. Smith had helped him simplify the design to keep the best features but still meet the requirements they would need.

If Faust was here now, Smith thought, he would be as anxious as he was to look at the memory chips and battery packs to see if they had worked as well as they hoped. A noise from behind them made both Smith and Hector turn around.

The door was nearly completely filled with one of the largest men Smith had ever seen. His head brushed the top of the door frame, and his shoulders were so massive, he must have come in sideways to get through the door.

"Filiaga," Hector said, "Come in, it's okay."

The man shook his head. He looked like he did not dare breathe in here, let alone get near any of the equipment.

"No thanks," he said pleasantly. "Rodriguez needs you, and you are not answering your phones again." He gave a little shrug, this happened a lot, and since he worked down the hall, Filiaga was frequently called to deliver messages to Hector.

Hector immediately started running off some rapid Spanish as he checked the phone on his table, and then pulled his cell phone from his pocket and started punching buttons.

"Sorry man," Hector shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. "I forgot again."

"No problem," Filiaga said, "He just needs you to bring up the robot. He has someone who wants to take a look at it."

Hector looked as if he stopped breathing. Finally he looked up at Filiaga and asked "Who?"

"THAT WAS THE LAST thing that I wanted to tell you," Kinkaid said as he pulled Ranger into a private corner of the room. He had filled in all the details about Stephanie's disappearance because Ranger had asked. He would have preferred not to have mentioned it at all. He knew it was not easy to hear about things like this happening when you are so far away.

Kinkaid knew that the team wanted to go home, he understood, but he couldn't let them go, not yet. He had one more thing that needed to be done. Part two of the mission, the part that he had promised Miller he would do for her.

She was still waiting to hear if he had been able to locate the rebels. They both knew it would not be easy, but it was so important to her, and he couldn't let her down. Not now, not after all she had been through.

As if she knew he was thinking of her, DJ looked up and smiled at him. Kinkaid nodded in return. They had been through so much in the past few years, more and more, he felt it was not fair to her to keep her trapped in the world he had made for her. While he had created the perfect soldier, and she had fulfilled all of his expectations, he could not do it to her anymore.

This op was to be her last. He had not told her that yet. He would have to find the right time to have that talk with her. Letting her go was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done. The old man had come to think of DJ as the daughter he never had. That is the reason that he had to set her free. And doing so was going to break his heart.

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	22. Chapter 22

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Chapter 22

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Turner had been done with his statement and had wanted nothing more than to find his bed and sleep for a week. Officer Morelli had escorted him out of the room and he'd nodded absently to Smith as they traded places. In his back of his mind, he knew that Smith had to make a statement too, but he was starting to feel fuzzy and the ability to form thoughts was eluding him.

He had just punched the button to call the elevator when everything around started to shift. He no longer felt the ache of his leg, or the sharp anxiety he'd had being strapped to a bomb. Nothing felt real, the stars that exploded in his vision hadn't even alarmed him. He had been completely unaware when everything turned black and he crashed to the floor.

Woody saw him go down. He had rushed to the door to call in the paramedics. And he remembered thinking that it was such a good thing that they had not rushed away after finding that the bomb had been a fake. It didn't take them more than a few minutes to check Turner out and whisk him away on the gurney. The sirens echoed between the buildings and the lights shot their glare in all directions as the ambulance quickly headed to the hospital.

Since coming on duty, it hadn't taken Woody long to put enough of the clues together to know that Stephanie had disappeared while Binky was on duty. Whatever had kept him from seeing where Stephanie had gone, had been weighing on his mind. Knowing Binky as well as he did, he knew that by now Binky had heard all about it and he would be upset. Everyone wanted to know what had happened to her, but for Binky, it would plague his mind, and it would kill him that he couldn't have been included in the search for her.

With this in mind, Woody had made a quick decision. He picked up the phone and called Binky. In an effort to help him ease his conscience, and to keep his trouble mind occupied, Woody sent Binky after the ambulance. His new duties would include keeping Mr. Turner safe during his stay at the hospital. Woody was pretty sure that would take him closer to making amends to the other men and to Stephanie. He smiled as he hung up the phone, he thought that Stephanie would definitely approve.

SMITH LOOKED ON WHILE Hector placed everything associated with drones onto a heavy looking metal tray. He was impressed with the delicate way that he handled everything and he recognized the qualities that he always saw in the men who worked with him in the labs.

From the little he knew about Hector, Smith knew that he was a genius with electronics here at RangeMan. And he knew better than to make any judgements about the teardrop under

his eye. But he still found that he was surprised and amazed at the skills that the man had.

Handing the tray to him, Hector moved a few things around on his desk, and then turned to him and motioned him out the door. He locked it up before leading them to the elevators. Smith was only partly paying attention to the ritual that Hector went through every time he left his space. If he had noticed any of superstitions at play, he did not acknowledge it.

In fact, he did not notice. He was having far too much fun. Here his drone was nearly destroyed, it had been used for spying, and had caused a man to be kidnapped and strapped to a pretend bomb, and all he could think was he couldn't wait to get inside of it.

This was his first love. Designing and building, solving technical problems and making improvements. Not the duties of his position at GlobalGas. Yes, he knew that with his specialized training and the instincts honed by General Kinkaid, he was the best negotiator, and the perfect liaison between the government factions and competitors in their business. He accepted that role, he had been created for it.

But whenever he got the chance, he was in the labs working alongside the men he considered his heroes. Ron was one of them, and he couldn't help wonder if he was doing okay. This little drone in his hands was every bit as much Ron's baby as it was his. For a moment, he wondered if he should call him and let him know that it had been found. That much information, he knew, would at least put Ron's mind at ease.

He would have to remember to do that after meeting with whoever it was that wanted to see the drone. Smith now turned a bit protective. He did not want just anyone to get a good look at it. It was still experimental, and still under the pending patents of GlobalGas. Legally, he could refuse to let them see it, but he wanted to be cooperative with the men who had been so willing to work with the general and keep him here.

It was with mixed emotions that he followed Hector into a conference room. He had just a moment to realize that this was a different room from the one they had met in yesterday. And then his attention was completely focused on something else entirely. Looking across the room, he saw him. Smith stopped, and Hector had to take the tray out of his hands and place it on the table.

"Faust?" Smith said, not believing his eyes. "How?" he asked, cocking his head to one side in confusion. "When?" he said as he took a step closer. "What are you doing _here_?"

HIS SHADOW SPREAD over the entire hallway as he watched Hector go through the motions of locking up his lab. Noting the precise movements that he always used, Toa couldn't help but smile. He was so superstitious, he thought almost indulgently. Hector never left his room without following his routine that included touching the brass nameplate to the side of the door. When he was done, Hector looked up and nodded at him before heading down the hall. They had been through this drill many times. Like every time that Toa had to go in and give Hector a message.

Toa almost laughed at that thought. Maybe turning off his phones was another superstition that Hector observed religiously. When the elevator door closed, Toa stepped back into his own large room. Without thinking, he brushed his fingers over the rounded top of a stick that he had planted in a big brown pot of sand and kept by the door.

He turned to the long wooden workbench that dominated the space. As the resident weapons specialist, it was his job to clean and maintain all firearms used at the RangeMan shooting range. He also fixed and modified weapons as needed. He walked to the bench and lifted the M107 LRSR rifle and looked down its scope. He had almost finished the repair he was working on when he'd received the call for Hector.

The muscles in his forearms played with the tribal tattoos on each arm. Hefting the thirty pound rifle as if it weighed hardly anything, he lifted it up to look through the scope. "Perfect!" he said. Toa carefully packed it into its case and snapped it shut.

There was a rap on the door, and he turned to see his shooting partner. "Gotta go," said Ramon as he walked in. "I had to beg them to open the six a.m. slot for us, so we can't be late."

"Hey bro," Toa said, looking up at his friend. "It's done and its a beaut."

He handed the case to Ramon and bent to remove another similarly sized case from the shelf under the workbench. With a smile that flashed with his bright white teeth, Toa patted the case lovingly. "But it still can't compare to my Mauser," Toa said with pride.

Yeah," Ramon answered, "We'll see just who has the best skills, no matter what they are holding in their hands."

The good-natured banter continued as they turned to leave. Toa followed his friend. He passed the stick, and glanced at it but he did not touch it. He didn't need to, he was not alone this time. A wry smile played on his lips as he closed the door. So maybe he and Hector shared more things in common, he thought as he touched his name plate before leaving.

DJ WATCHED AS Ranger and Kinkaid talked in the corner. The news they'd heard had been a bit distressing, and everyone was dealing with it in different ways. Ranger was having a serious discussion. Tank and Lester were concentrating on the pool table. Hal found a book and had settled down in an over-sized easy chair.

Her attention turned back to the other member of the team. Aaron came over and sat next to her. He handed her a cold glass of water, placing his own on the coffee table in front of their chairs. DJ smiled and thanked him, but he could tell that she was a world away.

Aaron had noticed how distracted she had been acting from the moment they had been brought here. At first he let himself think that she was still shaken from the explosion and the trip to the infirmary. Who wouldn't be? No one wanted that to happen to them.

Now as he looked into her eyes, he knew that there was a whole lot more to it than that. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You have been here before," he said. It was not a statement, not a question, just an observation, and DJ knew that it needed an answer.

"Yes, too many times," she said. Her mind played back all of the meetings she'd had here with her Wing Commander. She remembered the frustration she had felt every time he dismissed her concerns. Every time that he said no. It had been in this room that she had started hating the man who was still Brigadier General at this base.

She knew he was here, she had heard his name mentioned several times, and the possibility that they could run into each other was something that she didn't even want to think about. She had been semi-conscious after the accident. She had heard what Scott Adams had said as he shipped her off to the hospital in Germany.

DJ had wanted to believe that it had been part of her nightmares, that it had not been real. But being back here now, she could no longer kid herself. Adams had been as cold as he seemed to her then. He had given her up for dead. And he had filled his own purposes by doing so.

Aaron sat back and looked at her. The tone of her voice was filled with so many emotions. Her eyes were haunted, sad, and it nearly broke his heart. "Tell me," he said. She immediately looked down at her hands. Could she tell him? Could she do that here?

When his hands covered hers, so gently, so firmly, she knew that she had her answer. Keeping her focus on his hands now, she told him. A few tears formed in her eyes. After all these years, it felt so good to tell someone. To share the horror and the pain. How did Aaron do it? How did he make her feel whole again.

Suddenly she looked up at him and saw the compassion, the love in his eyes. Without knowing it, this is what she had always been looking for. He filled a part of her heart that she had tried so hard to hide away. The emotions nearly drowned her. DJ closed her eyes and let them wash over her as Aaron pulled her into his arms and held her close.

Kinkaid took one last look at DJ. Her arms were wrapped around Gutierrez as he held her. He did not know what they had been talking about, but he could make a pretty good guess. He was going to miss her. He felt that with every fiber of his being. But she had found what she needed. He could be happy about that.

STEPHANIE WAS SURPRISED to see that Smith knew Ron. She watched in wonder as Ron jumped up and circled the table to give him a brief man hug. But no one was more shocked than Smith himself to find Ron Faust here in Trenton, New Jersey.

She listened as the men explained that they had worked together. That they had designed the drone that was now sitting in the middle of the table. That they had both lived in Nicosia for years.

The conversation continued, and part of her mind was following it for the information and revelations that were being made. But most of her attention had turned inward, to her own thoughts. About Ranger.

The moment they had mentioned Nicosia, Stephanie had nearly frozen. That is where Ranger had gone. It suddenly became hard for her to breathe. She couldn't help it, her emotions had been in turmoil from the moment he had left. And now all she could do is think of those last few minutes that they'd had together.

His arms were wrapped around her. Stephanie could still feel their warmth and strength. There had even been a brief moment when she thought that he would never let her go. And oh, how she wished it could have lasted forever.

It was at that moment that she knew, more certainly than ever before, she could not live without him. "I love you," she had whispered. Her own arms had tightened around him with those words. How could she let him go, she wondered. For that moment she didn't have to, and she didn't, she held on tight as if her life depended on it. Because, quite simply, it did.

"Babe," he had said. His lips touched her neck and she could feel his breath on her skin. Her mind recorded every sensation, every sound, every feeling. She had been replaying them over and over since watching him drive away. And in his single word, she heard him say all the things she had wanted to hear. That one word told her "I love you!" It said, "I will never leave you." It made her understand that they were going to be happy together for the rest of eternity. "Babe," she played it over again, wishing more than anything that she was in his arms right now.

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	23. Chapter 23

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Chapter 23

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Pacing the room, she passed by the wall that housed shelves of books and a basic entertainment center. She avoided the kitchen nook where her family was gathering. Instead she moved to the window that looked out over the tops of a whole bunch of trees, but not much else. The bars on the windows keeping them safe inside.

She couldn't help it, this apartment was beginning to feel too much like a prison. Beyza stopped her pacing and immediately chastised herself for thinking that. Her family was now seated around a table filled with food, waiting for her to join them. They had not been together without the threat of violence for so long she could not even remember when. They had much to be thankful for, and it was time she remembered that.

She looked at her brother, almost a man, but forced to grow up far too soon. He actually looked relaxed, calm. Her sister, even younger, had never enjoyed the sweet innocence of childhood, she looked like she was happy here, an easy smile on her face.

There was her mother, aged beyond her years from the fighting, the worry, she still kept her shoulders back and her chin up, and Beyza noticed that the worry lines in her forehead had disappeared. She was such a beautiful woman.

And then there was her father. The man she adored was valiantly trying to pretend that he was not bothered by the weakness of the left side of his body. They were lucky that he was sitting here at the table with them. She still remembered thinking that they would lose him to the injury that had caused his disability. She also remembered the fight and what happened when he had been cut down. He had not been able to fight again since then, and it weighed heavily on him. But he too smiled today.

It was not so hard for Beyza to admit that she had chosen this life. Once, she felt that she was fighting the righteous fight. Knowing that the honor of her family, of her people, was depending on her commitment to ridding her country of the evil that the terrorists spread into every corner. Now she wondered, if she had known the price, would she have taken up the cause?

She had been so young, who could have expected her to lead the rallying cry. Surely there had been others who would have taken up arms and fought for them. But, even as she thought this, she knew that it had not been the case. Until she had stood her ground and said 'no more', fear had ruled too many people. The pain was always there as she thought of some of them who were now dead.

Never could she forget the people who had fallen. They had been her friends, her family... her mentor. Tears formed in Beyza's eyes. Remembering the time they had spent together, DJ Miller was her idol, a strong woman with a big heart. She had learned so much from her, just from watching her. There was a way about DJ that make people around her want to be better, do better.

Beyza had been there, watching DJ lift off with the group of soldiers packed into her tiny helicopter. She had just waved goodbye when she saw the look in DJ's eyes. Beyza saw the cause of her horror just an instant after she did.

A missile was in the air, heading for the back of her chopper. DJ immediately spun it around, taking the hit in the front instead of letting it hit the band of men behind her. Beyza had no doubt that her quick action saved their lives.

Still now, after these past years, Beyza wondered why no one had helped DJ. She had watched them all. Every single man ran away from the crash. They were probably afraid of an explosion, but how could they have left their pilot, their protector there? She had seen DJ pulling herself away from the wreckage. All alone.

It was not right, Beyza still knew that it had been all wrong that day. But she had been scooped up by one of the men, as he ran past her. He carried her far away from the crash site, and she was not allowed back. She had never seen DJ again.

That did not mean, however, that she had not thought about her every single day since then. DJ Miller had been her friend, and she was still her inspiration. Beyza's biggest regret was that she never had the chance to tell her how much she had changed her life. Beyza had only been able to continue the fight because DJ had told her that she could never give up on the things she believed in. She believed that her friend had been right.

RON WAS IN HIS element now. Even with the hostility that he could feel from Stephanie's friends, it was his show and he knew that everyone wanted to hear what he had to say.

His hand rested on top of the drone as he explained about the homing mechanism and GPS chip that he had installed only a day before the drone had been stolen.

He reached for the remote control. Hector's eyes followed his every move, he was wondering how much information they could get from this broken down little robot with that fancy remote. It did not take long for him to get his answer.

With cautious moves, Ron removed his small notebook computer from his backpack. Stephanie pushed it over to Hector asking him to connect to the internet, and once he did, the screen showed all of the data that the drone had received, and was still recording. Ron took control and showed them how to access everything. Then he looked up at Smith.

"I followed you," he said. At least I followed your movements, but it wasn't until I saw this that I came here." He turned the screen so that Smith could see it. It was the transcription of a series of one sided messages between Oersted and Jones. Though he could not hear what Jones had said, the drone that Oersted had in his possession had picked up his responses. And from what Oersted had said, Ron knew he was coming to spy on RangeMan Inc. in Trenton, New Jersey.

"Does that say Jones, as in Terry Jones?" Smith asked. Ron shrugged, he did not know all the players as well as Smith would, it had not been his job to know.

"I don't know," Ron said. "But, I can show you some pictures of the people the Oersted guy saw when he had the drone with him. Most of them were in Europe, but there were a couple from around here too.

"You could do that?" Smith asked, astounded.

Ron nodded. "I tried to tell you about the upgrades I had been making. But you grabbed the tracking sensor and left so quickly, I don't think you had a chance to check them out."

Smith looked taken aback for a moment. His thoughts went back to the days before he left. It was true, Ron had tried to talk to him. It had just always been at a bad time. Terrorist activity was increasing with the stronghold that one group had gained on the coast of Nicosia. And then the drone had been stolen. He had left immediately after that.

"Tell me." Smith said.

Ron talked them all through the monitoring programs that he had added to the drone. The whole purpose for developing the robots was to gather intel, and that is exactly what it had been doing, from the moment it had left the lab.

While Ron had been hearing everything that it was recording, he could not have access to the video until he got the memory chips from the drone itself. He looked up at Smith again, "If the battery packs lasted..." he started to say, but Smith just nodded, and then asked Hector if he could use some of his tools.

Right there in the middle of the conference room, Smith and Ron opened up the broken shell of the drone, and presented the group with the intricate workings inside. In the heart, the very center, was what they were looking for. Ron's smile was reflected around the room. The whole recording system was still intact and it indicated that it was still transmitting. Ron pulled a cord out of his backpack and connected the laptop to the drone. The room was silent when the men saw what came onto the screen.

"Let's see it from the beginning," Rodriguez suggested. With a few adjustments and connections that Hector helped him make, to the large screen on the wall, Ron was ready to get started. Everyone sat back in their chairs, anxious for the show.

IT WAS TIME. General Kinkaid was about ready to start part two of their mission. Ranger's team was now seated in a private dining room. Dinner was under way, and he felt it was the right time to have a discussion with them. As he approached the door, his pocket buzzed. Looking at the screen of his phone, Kinkaid was a bit surprised to see a call coming in from Smith.

"Speak," he said as he answered the call. The general listened, nodding, but not saying anything until Smith had finished. Anger was building in his chest. Even if he had suspected it, hearing this news was still upsetting.

"Stay there, we will be joining you as soon as we can." Kinkaid said before disconnecting the call and sliding the phone back into his pocket. Phase two just got a little bit more interesting. And a bit more complicated. But he knew that Ranger and his team were up for it.

All eyes were on him as he passed through the door and sat at the empty place at the head of the table. "Please," he said. "Don't let me interrupt your meal."

HECTOR LEANED FORWARD, this is the part that he wanted to see. They had a birds eye view of the top of the RangeMan building. Oersted had been maneuvering the drone, getting it in place to install the wiretapping device. It hovered over the rounded nests and they could see the birds flapping their wings all around it. The camera's showed that it had suddenly lost altitude, and dropped down in the midst of the birds who had taken wing, leaving their homes.

It stabilized shortly after that, but it was apparent that there had been some damage done. Cal mentioned that fact and Ron smiled.

"My baby is tougher than that," he said. "What you just saw was my first attempt to take control back from Oersted."

Smith looked at Ron with awe, "Your control was able to override his remote?" he asked.

"Not completely," Ron answered, turning his attention back the screen. "You can see that I messed with his control, but I was never able to get full functions transferred to my remote. I guess we made her too well. Remember we didn't want anyone else to be able to mess with the functions while she was at work?"

It was true, they had spent hours discussing the different scenarios that could happen once the drones were sent off to do their information finding assignments. They shared a smile, both of them realized that the one scenario that they had never considered was the one they were now experiencing. Neither of them missed the irony of that.

Suddenly, the camera showed that the drone was getting ready to do its job. As it moved into place, the men all seemed to be holding their breath. The robotic arms awkwardly opened the door of the control panel, hitting one of the nests in the process. Now there was a collective gasp, when they saw the damage that had been done. Even though most of them knew what had happened, seeing it this close up was very upsetting.

Hector broke the silence by swearing in Spanish. "We have to get the bastard," he finally said, in English, so that everyone knew exactly how he felt.

THE PHONE CALL FROM General Daegel could not have come at a worse time. BG Adams was in the middle of his own drama here in on the base in Turkey. He did not want to be involved in Daegel's problems across the way in Nicosia. He sat behind his desk and lowered his head into his open hands. This was all giving him such a headache. Still, he knew that he had to listen to Daegel. It was his lot, ever since he let them bring him into that investment opportunity.

Years ago, when the GlobalGas company was being formed, he had been invited to be a silent partner. At the time, Adams felt some pride about being included in the exclusive club, since he had not headed up his own secret agency like the others. He had let his ego make the decision for him, and for a long time he had been happy with it, and with the money he was making.

This phone call reminded him of the obligation that he was under to the other senior members of the investment group. It was not as if he liked Kinkaid, by any stretch of the imagination. But he'd had no problem with his part in the management of GlobalGas. Daegel, however, saw things differently, and he wanted to make life difficult for Kinkaid, every chance that he got.

Adams had seen Daegel's antics increase during this past year. It had been pretty entertaining, up until he was coerced into becoming involved. Now Kinkaid and his team were here on his base, and Daegel intended to take advantage of the situation. He considered it a perfect opportunity to mess with Kinkaid once again.

The problem was, Adams knew he was already in enough trouble with the man. Kinkaid had found out about his attempts to talk to his guests. Getting caught going against direct orders was never a good thing, not even for Brigadier Generals. And now, Adams had a sneaky suspicion that the incident with DJ Miller had attracted the generals attention somehow, and he was going to have to answer for it soon.

He was in enough shit without having Daegel calling and demanding that he play his little petty games. He rubbed his temples, trying to get some relief from his aching head. Could this day get any worse?

That was a question that he should never have asked. Because he was about to find out that the answer was yes.

JONES WAS STARING AT HIS phone. Oersted had spent hours trying to get a hold of him, and now he was refusing to answer his calls. As good as the man was in his job, Jones was not sure if he was worth this aggravation. He was not kidding around now. He needed Oersted to get the drone back into his hands and bring it to him.

The blackout of information was killing him. Jones was finding that everyone else seemed to know things that he had not been privy to. Like the fact that Kinkaid had ended up in Turkey. That tidbit had come in the form of an inadvertent comment from Daegel.

Now Jones knew that there was something bigger going on than just using Manoso's team again. He was pretty sure that the general knew about the stolen drone. The old man did not trust anyone, it seemed, and it was only a matter of time before he came and talked to him. If the drone could be traced back to him, Jones knew he was going to be in an impossible situation. One that not even Daegel could get him out of.

If he could get the drone back, he would be safe. He could place it in the possession of someone else. He was good enough to make it look like the whole thing had been their idea. Then the heat would be off of him and he could keep his job. But all of that worked only if he could get that drone here now.

"Damn it, Oersted," he swore at the phone. "Just pick up the freaking phone!

OFFICER BARNES CALLED Joe to come to join him in the search of the building. They had not seen each other for a while, and Barnes figured he could catch up on things while still working with one of TPD finest.

By now the basement and the first two floors had been cleared, and his people were going over the third floor where Turner had been found. He had figured that if there was something to be found, they would have seen it already.

There had not been any evidence that anything, other than the dummy bomb that they had already removed, was here. The mystery over why any of this had happened still hung over their heads. No motive, no suspects, no anything. Something here is 'hinky', Barnes thought, using the colloquialism of his fourteen year daughter.

Still there was nothing to be found. They were climbing the stairs to the top floor when Morelli felt his pocket buzz. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that it was Stephanie who was calling.

"Steph?" he said, "What's wrong?" There had to be something very wrong if she wanted to talk to him, he thought. He had figured that he would never hear from her ever again. And especially not tonight.

"Joe, are you still in the building?" she asked quickly.

"Yes," he answered. But before he could say more, she asked another question.

"Where are you?" she wanted to know. Joe was getting very concerned now.

"I'm with Barnes, we are almost to the top floor," he said. "Steph, what's going on?"

Stephanie did not give him an answer instead she told him to get out of there. "Joe don't go up there," she said. "Get everyone out, now!"

Barnes looked at him with confusion. Joe motioned that they should go back down. If only to go across the street and make her tell him what this was all about, he was going to do as she asked. It was all too weird for her to be doing this. He wanted to know what was happening. Now!

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	24. Chapter 24

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Chapter 24

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His eyes were closed when he woke, but Turner knew exactly where he was. The antiseptic smells and the hushed quiet told him he was in the hospital, again. He hated hospitals. There were no happy memories of the childhood he had spent in and out of doctor's offices and hospitals with one operation after another to try to even up his legs.

Who knows, if it had worked, if he had become what he had dreamed about it might be different for him. If he had become the star athlete with an amazing story of his triumph over the circumstances that he had been born with, he might feel it was all worth it.

Those dreams had never come true. It was a shattering disappointment to finally be told that there was nothing that could be done. All those years, all the pain. For nothing. Turner had put all of those dreams behind him. Had lived a good life, and was happy. He really did not dwell on his past. He just could not help but be reminded of it when he was in a hospital, for any reason.

His eyes popped open. He was in a hospital? Why, what had happened? He looked frantically around the room, recognizing nothing at all, remembering nothing. Until he saw the man standing next to the door.

He was dressed all in black, and he was huge. Suddenly bits of the picture started to come back to him. This man was from RangeMan. They all looked like this, with their blank expressions and arms folded across enormous chests.

Turner stared at Binky, he did not know his name, but he did remember seeing him before. Memories of the abduction and the bomb came flooding back into his mind. He panicked as he relived the moment when he had realized that something bad could happen to him. And again when he saw the bomb in his hands. Had the bomb gone off? He couldn't think clearly.

He lifted his hands to see if they were still there, completely unaware of the commotion that he was causing. So absorbed in his fears and his questions, he did not hear the beeping and chiming of the machines he had been hooked up to. He did not notice the man in black running into the hall to bring in the nurses. He was only vaguely aware of their alarmed faces as they checked him over.

Sinking back into the pile of pillows behind him, Turner was just so relieved to see that he was okay. As the reality sank in, he let go of the terror that had gripped him. Calming himself down reassured everyone that he was fine. The instruments were reset and his vitals taken one more time. The calm serenity of their faces restored.

"Please," Turner said to the last nurse before she turned to leave. "Why am I here?" he asked.

Her compassionate face smiled at him. "You had a bit of a scare Mr. Turner," she said. "You passed out."

This made no sense to him. He looked at her with a confused expression. "I passed out?"

It was strange that he had no memory of it.

"We think it was the drugs in your system that may have contributed to the syncopal episode," she said, as if that cleared up all of his questions. It did leave him speechless, so she smiled at him again and walked out of the room.

Binky held the door open for the nurse and came back into the room to take his position just inside of the door. Turner knew he was there, but he continued to stare at his hands. He was okay.

He had fainted.

How very embarrassing.

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SO NOW HE KNEW. Kinkaid was remarkably calm, especially after finally finding out who it was that had been betraying him. Ranger was still sitting with him at the dining table. The others had gone back to the rec room, waiting for their new instructions.

"I should have known that Daegel had brought him in. It is just like him to make a move like this," he said, not really expecting an answer. His thoughts circled around again. Why didn't he see it?

"Jones did a good job at hiding things," Ranger said, matter of factly. He had not worked much with Jones. His involvement with Kindaid's ops had been mostly over by the time Jones had come on board. But now, Ranger couldn't help but wonder if the screwups here and in Syria last year had been helped along by a man who was trying to make Kindaid look bad. It was worth considering, but he would save that for another time. Right now, the general was forming his plan to show these men just who they were dealing with.

With deadly precision, Kindaid outlined the details. This new operation was going to span the globe in its scope. The timing was going to have to be exact. There was no room to allow these men to warn each others. Not only were they going down, they were going down together. Ranger nodded at the general's last question. His men would be ready. Both here, and in Trenton, and anywhere else he needed them. Of that, he could rely.

The older gentleman stood. before the operation take down started, he had something he had to do. Ranger noted the determination in his eyes, but this was not the venom from before. Now he had a personal errand and he knew it was the most important thing he had ever done for anyone.

Ranger followed him out of the room and down the maze of corridors. He had agreed to go to this meeting with Kinkaid. Though he did not know all of the details, he was certain that it was important to the man, and he was willing to see it through.

General Kinkaid greeted the men outside the door with a salute. Stopping at the door, he pushed his shoulders back and stood a little straighter, taller. It was a mental boost of confidence as much as physical. He wanted to present his best self to the people on the other side of the door.

Ranger did not smile at the general's posturing, he understood it. As he passed through the door, he too walked a little taller. It only lasted a moment. His eyes took in the room and who was in here looking at him and he he softened immediately.

"Mister Ranger sir," Temel Demir said, with a joy he could not hide. Ranger went through the complicated handshake that he and his men had taught the young man when they were here before. Temel had helped Beyza with the horses that they had used while searching for Asli in the mountains, and the guys had practically adopted him as a younger brother. It had been hard on everyone when they left. It always was when you have to say goodbye to people you care about.

Temel was grinning wide as he stepped back with his parents. Ranger had never actually met them before. It was still not clear to him why the whole family was here, but he knew that Temel and Beyza would want it no other way. Everything that they did was for their family. It felt right to see them all here together.

He extended his hand to Musa Demir. "Selamunaleykum," he said to the older man as they shook hands. The same greeting was extended to Beyza's mother Havva. Ranger saw where Beyza got her beauty. It made him smile, but did not say so to her.

"Hos Geldin," she said softly, and then she presented her youngest daughter, Lale. Once Ranger had met the rest of her family, Beyza joined them in greeting Ranger.

"Selamunaleykum Ranger sir," she said. "Are you here, needing guides again?" she asked.

Ranger was not sure if she was hoping that he was, or hoping that he was not here to use her services again. And she seemed reluctant to commit her feelings either way. He was surprised by her reticent demeanor. The Beyza he had known was fierce and headstrong. He remembered wondering if she was still alive. She was a determined woman, but her life had been very hard. That she was here meant that she was still fighting, even if she didn't look like it at this precise moment.

She had never hoped to see Ranger again. From what the awful Brigadier General Adams had said, he would never set foot in this part of the world again. That had hurt her deeply to hear him say that. And she had been very surprised that he had just walked into the room. Her confusion now showed on her face.

"Beyza, Aleykumselam," he said, taking her outstretched hand in his. "It is good to see you again." She stared at him, a smile finally blooming on her face. Beyza was unaware of how long they stood looking at each other. Both thinking that the other could be dead.

With wide arm gestures, her mother directed everyone to sit. Once settled, they all turned expectantly to the general, who up until now had not said anything. They seemed to expect that though and were patiently waiting for him.

General Kinkaid turned to Beyza, as her parents did not speak English. His face softened and he spoke in a gentle voice that Ranger had never heard him use before. "I have that surprise that I promised you," he told her.

Beyza's eyes grew wide and she gasped in surprise. Her parents jumped up in alarm because of her reaction to whatever that man had said to her. She patted their hands and kissed them each on the cheek as she murmured words that seemed to calm them. Then she looked up at the general.

"Where?" she asked.

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WE NEED TO FAST forward a bit, Ron said. He seemed more anxious than he had before, as if he had suddenly remembered something. Which, indeed, he had. Rodriguez looked at him with curiosity. Smith was the one to speak up first.

"What is it Ron?" he asked. The two friends exchanged a glance that seemed to explain a lot. Everyone now turned to Ron. He swallowed hard under their scrutiny. He tried to ignore them, turning his attention to the search he was making.

"There," he said, pointing to the screen. "This is the part that you need to know right now."

The picture on the screen was frozen. Ron stared at it, debating what to do. Finally he looked up at Smith and confessed.

"It was me, I did the Turner thing." he said rapidly. "It wasn't real, no bomb. It was never real," he said desperately. Smith drew his brows together in confusion. Ron lifted a shoulder. "It was all I could think of to get a whole bunch of people to swarm the building."

With that cryptic statement, he started the recording. Cal and Hector immediately recognized the room they were seeing, and they each sucked in a breath as the camera moved from the doorway to make a circle around the chair that Turner was strapped to. The picture zoomed in on the timer that was on top of the box in his lap, and then Ron stopped it.

"How?" Hector asked. Ron knew exactly what he meant. He had set it up to look like Oersted had done this. He looked a bit chagrined as he explained what had happened.

"I tried to gain control of the drone, to get it to take these shots, but I couldn't. So I filmed it myself, on my phone and sent it to the drone." The looks he was getting now ranged between disbelief and shock. Ron talked fast trying to get the message to them as quickly as he could, turning to Smith hoping that he would understand.

"All I was able to do in the end was to get the signal to your scanner. You knew the coordinates and you came over to find Turner. But there was no way for me to let you know Turner was not alone in the building."

Smith was thinking a few steps ahead now. The bomb had been a necessary diversion to ensure that he could keep Oersted trapped for as long as he could. Probably long enough for Ron to find him. Smith understood. Ron had come to RangeMan to talk to him. But he would have looked suspicious showing up and asking to see someone who was supposed to be in protective custody. It almost made perfect sense. In a crazy kind of way.

"So you let the police become involved?" Smith asked. Ron nodded.

"I had to, it was the only way to keep people from being hurt," Ron knew that they still did not get it.

"He is over there," he said. Oersted is going to have to go higher and higher in the building until there is nowhere left to go. He's probably pissed off by now, and he knows he can't be caught with the drone," he was speaking urgently now.

"And if he gets cornered he is going to come out fighting," Cal finished for him. Ron nodded and pointed at him with both hands.

"Whoever is in that building is in danger. We've got to do something!" Ron said.

"Joe!" Stephanie gasped. "Joe is still over there." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called him. Her eyes were searching everyone while she talked to him. What were they going to do?

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THERE THEY ALL WERE, in the middle of the street again. Oersted did not even try to understand why the officers seemed to be waiting for something again. He was just tired of this whole thing. He had been watching their progress, they had almost reached the last hiding place he could find. And when they did, he knew that he would have no choice but to leave no witnesses. It was that simple, he did not like things to get this far. He would much rather remain a ghost. But make no mistake, he would do what he had to do.

His anxiety level had actually gone up when they stopped the search and went back down. He now had to worry about why things had changed. Did they suspect that he was there? The guy with the bomb had been a very unfortunate coincidence. But he had not left any evidence of his presence. The only thing that gave him away was the drone, and it had crashed on the roof of the other building. No one should know that he was here.

His conversation with Jones, a few minutes ago, did nothing to ease the tension that was building up in his gut.

It did no good to think that he should have left when he told himself to earlier. Of course he knew that. His instincts were never wrong. But he still had his orders. And the one that had left him with all this trouble had been the demand that he had to talk to Jones before he left.

It also did no good to say that if he had been able to talk to him, he would have left already.

Jones was now telling him that he had a new rendezvous point and he was to be there with the drone in three hours.

That was going to be impossible. For a number of reasons that he ticked off on his fingers when he was talking to Jones. First, he told him, it would take three hours of travel time to get there, and that was assuming he could leave right that second. Which he could not.

Two. He did not have the drone. It had been malfunctioning. Just like he had told Jones earlier. This whole operation was out of control, and for some reason, that he didn't seem to want to share with him, his pal Jones was getting all freaked out. Jones insisted that the wiretapping device had to be retrieved. They could leave no evidence behind.

This particular order had angered Oersted. He had tried to get the device back just as soon as they discovered that it did not work. He had told Jones that it was not professional to leave it there, and besides that, it was just a bad idea to leave anything that could be traced back to them.

It had been Jones who had told him to forget it. Only because the drone was not working, he had to leave it there, and tried to just not worry about it. There was really nothing he could have done. Trying to get there himself to remove it would not only have been impossible, it would have given their position away, if he had made the attempt.

Now it was the most important thing in the world to get it back? Well, that was not going to happen. And neither was the rendezvous, thought Oersted. He did not have anything that Jones wanted, so there was no point in meeting. The only thing on his mind now was getting away from here.

His attention was drawn to the crowd below again. Absently he placed his hand on the gun tucked into its holster under his arm. He mentally checked off the rest of the weapons he was carrying. Knife at his ankle, gun at his back, another knife on his belt. He was dressed and ready to get out of here.

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AARON WAS STANDING next to DJ, her hand was trembling in his and he tried to reassure her with his arm around her shoulders. General Kinkaid had looked everywhere for Beyza. He had done it for her. This information was still so hard for her to comprehend. Since the accident, he had been the only person that she had trusted, who she could look to. And though she had not actually realized it, he was the father that she had lost.

That made this all the more personal and meaningful. He said that he could let her meet with Beyza after all this time because her tour of duty was over now. This was her last mission with him, and DJ still had mixed feelings about that. Only a few days ago, it would have scared her, there was no where for her to go if she was not working for Kinkaid. The arms around her now told her that it was no longer the case. There was definitely somewhere she wanted to be now.

DJ heard a small cry and she looked up to see a beautiful young lady standing by her door.

"Beyza," DJ whispered.

She felt Aaron give her a squeeze as he leaned close to her ear and said, "Go."

Both DJ and Beyza were in motion and they met in the middle, clasping hands, and then hugging each other tight.

Ranger invited them to go back into the apartment quarters. Aaron had walked up the hallway, he joined Ranger as they followed the ladies. Without prior arrangements, they both stayed by the door, as if guarding it.

On the other side of the room, DJ was talking and crying and laughing. Beyza and Temel were doing the same. For all these years none of them knew if they would ever see each other again. That they were all here together was the greatest gift they had ever had.

HE HAD NEVER SEEN these scientist type guys so worked up. The theft of the drone had upset them more that Daegel had expected. After all, it was just a side activity, not even one of the important projects that they were paid to work on here at GlobalGas. He smirked, they did not even do any of the work on it. That had been done by Smith and a guy named Faust.

Everyone knew it was Smith's pet project. Daegel was not at all surprised that he was the one to go after it. Again, he sneered. Of course he was the one, Kinkaid let the man do whatever he wanted around here. That had always bothered him. Anything Kinkaid did bothered him. But the connection between Smith and the general had him curious. The fact that he could not trace their ties made him suspicious and down right ticked off.

Daegel hated it that Kinkaid and his secret agency seemed to get the approval for so many top secret military projects. It sure looked like preferential treatment from where he was sitting and it made him angry. It was high time that Kinkaid was taught a lesson, and Daegel was just the one to do it.

For some reason, Kinkaid was staying in the guest quarters on the Air Force base. He knew that much information from BG Adams. When his call to Jones, to confirm his plans, had not yielded any information, it had just waved the red flag as far as he was concerned. If his own assistant didn't know his plans then they must be private or really juicy. He just couldn't wait disrupt them. All he had to do was get Adams to find out the details over there, and he could devise the way to ruin his plans. It was time to give Adams another call, to see what he knew about Kinkaids plans now.

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	25. Chapter 25

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Chapter 25

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Leaving Smith and Ron to talk with Joe and his friend Barnes, Stephanie went back into the conference room. She had seen Rodriguez come back inside a few minutes after everyone rushed out to the street. Stephanie was pretty sure that he knew something the rest of them didn't, and she was determined to find out what it was.

She braced both arms on the table and leaned forward, "Who did you talk to?" she asked.

Rodriguez looked up at her, the surprise over her question immediately disappeared with his blank look. He did not say anything. 'Oh no you don't' she thought, he was not going to keep her in the dark, not this far into the whole thing.

"What did Ranger tell you?" she asked. Point blank. This time he could not disguise his shock. And Stephanie knew her instincts had been right. He had talked to Ranger. There were some new plans and that is what Rodriguez was doing in here, arranging their next move.

"Steph,"" he started to say, but she held up her hand.

"Just tell me what I can do to help," she said. "If I am right, we don't have much time to get everything ready."

All he could do was nod in the affirmative. She was right. They had about an hour to get people into place, and there were a ton of details to attend to. He could use some help.

He looked into her eyes, very serious now.

"So, you remember the hacking lesson that Hector accidentally gave you?" he asked. She couldn't help but smile at his inquiry. It would have been impossible to forget, she had been using several of the techniques, that she had seen that day, on a regular basis ever since. And he knew it! For some reason, as much as he wanted her to be able to use every skill she could in her searches, he seemed reluctant to show her how to do the illegal things that were sometimes required to get the job done.

Letting Hector be the one to show her had somehow eased his conscience about the whole matter. Stephanie always thought that it had been interesting to see how by the book he could get, especially with what they were doing. But she knew that someone had to, and she respected him for it. And then she went ahead and did whatever she had to do to get the job done.

"Of course," was her reply, and it earned a small smile from him. He pulled out the chair next to him and she sat down. Pushing his laptop over to sit in front of her, he handed her the list he had been working on. And he was immediately back into business mode.

"We need to know the current whereabouts of these people," he said. "And we need them asap."

Stephanie nodded and turned her attention to the list. Terry Jones, General Kent Daegel,

Brigadier General Scott Adams.

Searches were already going for each of these men. Stephanie looked at the screen. These were searches that you did to get complete information on someone. But what they needed now was very specific info.

Her forehead wrinkled, and she narrowed her eyes as she thought hard about how she could find these men. Suddenly it came to her. She sat straight in her chair, and pulled over the phone. She had seen that Jones worked in Washington DC. As assistant to a general, he had to be on call twenty-four hours a day. What she knew about DC is that it was never closed. Someone, somewhere was working and knew where Jones was. She started with the number listed on Jones profile sheet.

The office number she dialed was immediately directed to the answering service. Stephanie smiled, this is what she had expected. "General Kinkaid's office," the voice on the phone said. Stephanie paid close attention the that voice. The woman speaking was young and she sounded tired, probably getting close to the end of her graveyard shift. She also sounded like she was from Jersey. So Stephanie channeled her best Jersey girl and asked to speak to general Kinkaid.

"I'm sorry, the general is not in the office," came the automatic response. "May I take a message?"

Stephanie took an audible breath. "He is not in his office," she repeated. "He is not anywhere, does anyone know where the guy is?" she asked with the kind of exasperation that secretaries everywhere knew so well. She had been asked to the impossible, and as a good secretary she was doing her best. There was a universal understanding between secretaries and the people they talked to. Stephanie was counting on that, and it worked.

"Right?" the girl said, in a knowing tone. And then she became the most helpful person she could be. "I could connect you to his assistant if that would help," she said. They both knew that it was not standard procedure for her to do that, but it was early, and no office staff would be available, it would have been a waste of time for her to transfer the call to the office so that all she could do was leave a message.

"Could you do that?" Stephanie asked innocently. "That would be great, uh…."

"Shirley," the girl supplied. Again the comradery between office workers coming through.

"That would be great Shirley," Stephanie said. "Thanks!"

"No problem," Shirley said. "Hold the line, and good luck."

Stephanie started the Universal Analytics application and tracked the call. It pulled up a map on her screen. First it was the general vicinity of DC, then she watched as it narrowed down the location. When it started ringing, Stephanie was surprised to see that the call was connecting somewhere in the pentagon. She would have thought that the off hours number for the generals assistant would be his home phone, but apparently it had been forwarded to his cell phone.

Booya! She thought. Now she could track his GPS, and they would know exactly where he was as long as he had the phone with him. One down, two to go.

THE REUNION WITH Beyza and her family had been the most amazing thing. Just knowing that they were alright would have been enough, but to be able to spend a few minutes with them had been more that she had ever hoped.

The image of their home, destroyed by terrorists, had been disturbing her more than she had realized. The relief to see that they had been removed, long before that van incident had happened, helped her see how just much she had been worried about them. Her fears about Beyza being a target, were a reality, but Beyza had connections and she was smart enough to know when to leave.

Beyza explained that they had family in Cypress. They were going to live in a small fishing community that was, at the moment, free from terrorist activity. The general had made arrangements to get them over there as secretly as possible. Now DJ could put her mind at ease with their news and she knew that they were going to be okay.

It was a good solution for most of the family, but deep inside DJ knew that Beyza would not be staying there for long. She still had a fight to win, and there was no doubt in her mind that she would find a way to do her part. While that thought worried her, she was proud of Beyza. It took a lot to stand up for what you believe is right.

Besides, from what she had told her, Beyza had a special friend helping her in that fight. Showing her the ring she is now wearing, Beyza told her that she was sozlu with a wonderful man named Galif Burakgazi.

Both sets of parents had approved of their engagement, and she couldn't be happier. Beyza was absolutely glowing as she spoke of him. She was a woman in love, and DJ could not help but think that she knew just how she felt.

Her eyes had met with Aaron's across the room, and she knew that she had also found the man who she could love and spend the rest of her life with. It was easy to share in the joy that Beyza was feeling. DJ knew she would always remember this day as a bubble of happiness in their crazy and dangerous lives. The visit with Beyza was short, DJ still had a job to do. It was hard to say goodbye again, so this time they only said 'gorusmek uzere'. See you later.

Once they were back in the rec room, the whole team waited for the details of what DJ now knew was to be her final mission. A smile radiated from her eyes as she looked up at Aaron. She reached out and slipped her hand inside of his. He immediately tightened his grasp on hers and returned her smile. Nothing had been the same since he met her. And he knew that his life had changed forever because she was going to be a big part of it from now on. He did not know how, but he did know that it was the only thing that he wanted. And they would make it happen. Somehow.

It wasn't long before the blissful thoughts, that they were both having, had to be put aside. Ranger and Kinkaid stood together were ready to fill the team in with the details of the last stage of this mission.

"All operations will be commencing at 1500 hours," Kinkaid said. Everyone in the room looked down at their watches and synchronized the time. "Tank and Hal will stay with Adams here. He is on the base, but intel tells us that he is planning on leaving soon. That will work in our favor. It will be best to have him off of the premises when this all goes down."

Tank nodded and glanced at Hal who tipped his head. They both looked at the general. 'Understood' was communicated with the look in their eyes.

Kinkaid would be accompanying Ranger and Lester. DJ would be flying them over in the chopper, Aaron in the co-pilot seat this time. They were going back over to Nicosia to the GlobalGas headquarters.

Daegel was being detained, until they got there, by the group of inventors that Ron had contacted. Kinkaid had to laugh. The old guy might actually be happy to see him, after spending an hour with these high strung geniuses and their demands that he increase security there so that none of the very important projects that they are working on could be stolen away like the drones had been. He actually did laugh at the irony of the situation.

Ranger took over the discussion. With pride in his voice, he told the team how Stephanie had found Jones in DC. She had pinpointed his location and has been following his moves. Her intel on him was incredibly detailed. Ranger knew that she had probably hacked into his personal computer or his iPad to get it. And he couldn't be prouder.

"Everything happens for a reason," she often said, and today, Ranger couldn't agree more. He knew that it was so much more than a coincidence that Roger King and Martin Beam had been sent to DC yesterday, to measure and evaluate a property for a new account. They were still there and would have no problem moving into place to intercept Jones at the appointed time.

While tracking Jones's phone, and from the poking around that she had been doing in his computer, Stephanie had been able to zero in on the location of a fourth person of interest. Ranger had been more than a bit surprised to find out that she knew all about Oersted already. The mercenary, that Jones and Daegel had hired, had been holed up in the building across the street from RangeMan all this time. Daegel would have a lot to answer for if he survived the next couple of hours.

The last part of the plan had been a bonus. Rodriguez and the team at home were working with Morelli and his contacts in Trenton. They were going to bring in the man who had been a legend, in espionage circles, for years. It would be credited to the TPD, and would be a huge coup for the department. RangeMan was happy to be of assistance in this matter, and needed no further recognition. In fact, they insisted that they not be mentioned at all. It would be better for business they said.

Ranger looked at his watch once again, before sweeping his eyes over the team.

"Let's move."

HER PHONE WAS STILL in her hand. Stephanie was in a bit of a daze, and a smile was firmly attached to her lips. She had just spoken with Ranger. Rodriguez had needed her to coordinate a few details with him. Closing her eyes, she pictured him, remembering the last time she had seen him. His arms had enveloped her, she had felt his strength and even the desperation of having to leave her when they had finally just come together. She felt her arms around him too, it had been the hardest thing she had ever done to let him go. She now knew that he was halfway around the world. So far away that she didn't even want to think about it. But he was safe and she had never been so happy to hear his voice.

With the plans now in place, at least she knew that he was going to be headed back home very soon. It was no longer a guessing game, she could count the hours until they would be together again. She felt light somehow, and invincible, like she could do anything.

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FOR THE FIRST time, Binky let his face show some expression. Closing the door after the nurse left, he shot Turner a raised eyebrow look that held a bit of surprise and a lot of 'I told you so'.

"See?" he said. Francis Turner smiled and shrugged. He sat up straighter in the bed, taking advantage of the stack of pillows she had just fluffed for him. At his age, he did not expect feminine attention anymore, and he had been ignoring all the signs. It had been Binky who had been pointing some of them out for him. Still he dismissed them for a long time, but it was hard to deny that he was getting an awful lot of attention from one particular nurse.

Nurse Landon had been in to check on him. Again. She had come in for one thing or another so often, they were both wondering if she had any other patients to attend to. The answer to that question was a resounding 'no'.

Her shift had actually ended shortly after his panic attack when he woke up. She had been so worried about him, she had stayed on. Without saying anything about it, no one noticed that it was time for her to go. There was just something about this patient, and she had been unwilling to leave him.

At first it was her concern, and yes curiosity. Turner's lab reports had come back showing traces of a drug that she had never heard of before. A combination of chemicals that intrigued her. When she started medical school, she had wanted to be a pharmacist. Back then, it was a field dominated by men, and she had been discouraged from following her dream. She became a nurse instead and she had enjoyed it, but she had never lost her interest in pharmaceuticals. For twentyfive years she had loved her job, and she found that her continued interest in drugs, above that which was required, helped her understand what her patients were going through. She believed it made her better at her job.

It had been no wonder that her patient had fainted, the traces of gamma-hydroxybutyrate in his system would have given him a psychomotor impairment effect similar to passing out. It also contributed to his headaches and nausea. But it was the other elements that made her curious. She told herself that her interest in Turner was purely academic, and that she wanted to stay to observe him, his reactions to the drugs.

After a few hours, however, she could no longer fool herself, or him for that matter. Her intentions were now completely personal. She did not want to leave his side before she got to know him better.

With some good natured prodding from Binky, every time that she left the room, Turner started to talk to her. He found that Nurse Landon was not only very book smart, she had a big heart. And she had a sense of humor that delighted him.

Anna Landon found Francis Turner to be intelligent and kind. Through their bits of conversation, she knew that he loved to fish and he had never been married. Something that they both had in common, although she was slow to admit it to him.

By the time the doctor came in to release him, Francis had decided that he wanted to see Anna again. He had absolutely no idea if he could. He was staying at RangeMan to keep him safe from terrorist. Who would invite someone into that kind of a situation. But there was nothing he wanted more, that to spend time with her.

He was not going to say anything. It would be his misery to live alone, he could not endanger her. But it made him extraordinarily sad to think that he would not see her again. Binky watched the interaction, and he knew that there was something he could do for these two people who seemed reluctant to pursue this connection that they had.

After the doctor left, he cleared his throat and asked Nurse Landon if she had had any home visit experience. She was taken by surprise by this question, but answered that she had worked with the home health network for a number of years. Then, much to Turner's delight, Binky asked her if she would consider taking some time off from the hospital to continue to care for Turner.

Before they left, information was exchanged and both Francis Turner and Anna Landon knew that they would be seeing each other very soon.

.

WAITING DOES STRANGE things to people. Oersted had been playing waiting games all night. It didn't matter if it was called it cat and mouse, or hide and seek, they were still games, and they still made him wait. It was starting to get to him.

He took a break from watching the men in the street, and looked around at his current hiding place. It was someones office. In another hour, this building was going to be filling up with people coming to work. He had avoided the night cleaning crew. He had kept ahead of the police department and the fire department. He had been in hiding for nearly two days now. Something had to give.

Oersted frequently reminded himself that he was a professional, that this was part of the job, and he could see it through. But he knew that his patience was wearing thin, and he was going to have to make a move, and soon.

His last call from Jones did not help. The man was starting to get desperate, and a bit paranoid. He was sure that someone was watching him. Oersted shook his head. Jones was a lightweight, and had he had no patience for him anymore either.

Walking back over to the window, Oersted noticed that things had changed. Half of the people who had been there before were gone. A bit of hope began to rise in his chest. It was almost time, he told himself. He would be out of here and would never come back.

His things had been packed for hours, now he slung the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder and was at the ready, when he heard the noise. A single footfall, or an accidental knock against a wall. Whatever it was, he knew that someone was near.

Crouching in a defensive position, he drew his gun from the holster and held it in one hand, grabbing his gun from his back, he held it in the other. Now he had both guns pointed at the door. He held his breath, if anyone opened that door, it would be the last thing they did.

oOoOoOoOo


	26. Chapter 26

oOoOoOoOo

Chapter 26

oOoOoOoOo

Stephanie looked at the clock. It was eight o'clock in the morning. Twenty-four hours ago the mayhem had started the moment that Smith and Turner and Miller had walked off of the elevator. Now she knew that all hell was about to break loose, globally. She sat in the middle of 'command central' and listened.

Rodriguez had Hector bring in at least six monitors and as many phone lines so that he could see and or hear everything that was going on at the same time. On the monitors, Stephanie could see the locations of each of the teams. With his ability to hack into security and surveillance cameras all over the world, Hector had found a way to watch as much of the action as they could.

Hector had lost Aaron as his right hand man when Aaron had gone off to help the team. Right now, Aaron was sending them their feed from the chopper. That was one piece of the puzzle that they needed, but Hector needed someone to help him out here, so he asked Rodriguez if he could have Ron.

Rodriguez smiled at that . Hector rarely asked for anything and it was even more unexpected for him to want to work with anyone. To date he had only been close to a handful of the rangemen. Toa was the first to come to mind. He had been a big help to Hector downstairs and they both loved to keep in their own spaces, so they got along great.

Then he had just recently brought in Aaron, a friend of his cousin, and someone who he had known when they were younger. For those reasons, and the fact that Aaron was as good at his job as Hector was, it had been a good fit, and Hector had no problem working with Aaron to teach him the ropes at RangeMan. But for the most part Hector worked alone.

Now to ask for Ron's assistance was definitely an anomaly, making it a request that he couldn't ignore. Desperate times called for desperate measures. They did not know Ron Faust. So they had to base their decision on the fact that he was smart, he knew what was going on, and that Stephanie trusted him. Though it was not a lot to go on, Stephanie liked the guy, and in the end, that was enough.

Between the two of them, Hector and Ron had eyes and ears on every member of the team. They also followed the targets as much as possible, every bit of intel that they could pass along would make this operation go smoothly. And, like Stephanie, Hector wanted to get everyone home safely.

.

JOE WAS READY. The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins. Ever since Stephanie had called to get him out of the building, Joe had been ready to channel all of his anxiety and nervous energy into bringing this incident to an end. Rodriguez had given Joe and Barnes the condensed version of how Oersted came to be in the building, and why Ron had planted a fake bomb to get their attention.

Barnes and one of his men had seemed especially interested in the brief mention of a drone. Both of them had disappeared for a few minutes, and when they came back, Joe could tell that something was up. It wasn't long before he had been informed of their contribution to the plan outlined by Rodriguez. He would have never thought that they would come up with such a thing, but everyone seemed to be in agreement, so it was on.

This whole thing seemed so unbelievable. The information that they were being given about the mercenary they were now after, made him wonder just how many strange situations that Ranger's men encountered on a regular basis.

Most of the uniforms had been sent home. All that remained here with him and Barnes was a few of the firemen, the SWAT team and Ranger's men. Rodriguez had explained the details of the plan that they had worked out with Barnes, and while he seldom liked taking orders, Morelli had to agree that they really knew what they were doing. Of course, being one of the men to stay here in the street, as a visible decoy, had not been the role he had thought he would be asked to play. But he had agreed, and here he was. Barnes joined him after checking in with the head of the SWAT team, and they were ready for it to get started.

Without being too obvious about it, Joe looked at his watch. Within fifteen minutes, everyone would be in place and Oersted would be in their custody. If he was lucky, that would mark the end of this strange night.

.

WITH EASE, DJ landed the small chopper in the center of the circle that had been painted on the blacktop behind the GlobalGas building. General Kinkaid looked at the digital clock on the control panel and took a deep breath. As usual, DJ had timed it just right, and Kinkaid knew that he would reach the labs exactly at the appointed moment. When he got to the labs, Daegel would know that he was the one who had ultimately lost the games that he had been playing.

Ranger led the way and met with the military police. The warrants and paperwork were in order, and it was going to be a simple thing to bring in General Daegel for theft and conspiracy charges.

The rhythm of boots walking down the halls was heard throughout the building. Heads peeked out of office doorways and nearby corridors to see what was going on. They never had this much excitement here. Any problems that ever happened here were usually dealt with before anyone got past the front receptionists desk. So this was attracting a lot of attention.

Daegel heard the noise too. He knew exactly what the sharp, exact click of heels meant, and his mind started racing. There was a good chance that some of these paranoid scientist types had called the police from the embassy in to continue the investigation of the missing drones. He would not put it past them, especially not after all of the complaints they had just thrown at him. He hoped that was the case, it would be better for him than the alternative that he could think of, but by the surprised looks on the faces all around him, he had to rule that theory out as soon as he thought of it. They did not seem to be expecting anyone to be coming here.

In fact, very few people were allowed anywhere near the labs. Daegel was not even supposed to be down here. It was not his area of expertise. The research arm had been under the watch of Kinkaid. As the marching came even closer, he felt a hot flush creep up his neck and onto his face. Part anger and part foreboding. At this late date, his brain registered the fact that he was in the labs, an area that was strictly restricted to him.

He had allowed these frantic eggheads to corner him and keep him in the one place in the whole building that he had been contractually obligated to stay away from. This had nothing to do with increasing security or investigating the theft. The realization that he was about to be arrested flooded over him and he was livid. How dare they try to play me, he thought. They did not know who they were dealing with.

The crowd of men in white lab coats parted to allow the men in uniforms access to General Daegel. By now, Daegel was ready to protest and lash out at the police for their incompetence, but his words died on his tongue when he saw Kinkaid. He was as the front of the group, two men in black flanking him, just a half a step behind the general. In turn they were being covered by a dozen police officers in full assault gear, and all of their weapons were pointed at his chest. Daegel looked down to see the red dots of light from their laser scopes.

It was all over for him, he knew it, but everything about this situation made him crazy. Daegel grabbed the nearest white coat clad geek and held him in front of him, as a shield. He noted the ever so slight movement of Kinkaids head, but he was not going to go down without a fight. He had been set up, there was no other explanation for this. Kinkaid had set him up and he screamed at him.

Accusing him of everything from stealing his girlfriend the night they met her at the bar on their first leave after officers training, to this elaborate scheme to trap him in a scandal. He ranted on and on, sounding more and more like a lunatic. The spit spraying from his mouth added to the crazy effect and all personnel present were witness to the tirade that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

With his human shield, Daegel backed up across the room. His plan was not all that clear, he just figured that he could get through the door and make his escape with the small head start he got by using the hostage. His yelling continued with every step he took.

"Stay back Kinkaid," he growled. "You know what I can do if I am provoked," he warned, alluding back to their special ops training.

General Kinkaid stayed right where he was. Daegel's focus was on him as he continued to drag the man with him. The police had spread out in a line on either side of the general, emphasizing their presence, but Daegel refused to be intimidated. He was determined to get out of here anyway that he could. His progress toward the door was slow, and he started gaining confidence when Kinkaid and the police remained where they were.

He was just close enough to touch the door handle, and make his break for it. A sneer curved the corners of his mouth . He was there and nothing could stop him now. He narrowed his eyes and gave Kinkaid one last venomous look. The general smiled as he brought his arm up in an exaggerated movement to check the time on his watch.

"Fifteen hundred hours," he said.

Daegel was confused, who cared what time it was? The man in the white coat was suddenly ripped out of his hands. Daegel felt his breath knocked out of his lungs as he was tackled from behind. He hit the floor hard, a spray of blood from his nose dotted the shiny white tiles. Sparks lit the corners of his vision when his arms were roughly yanked behind his back and the click of handcuffs sealed his fate.

Ranger and Lester pulled him up and shoved him, none too gently, into the waiting hands of the police. Daegel swung his head around to see that he had been taken down by Ranger and Santos. He knew their names. He knew all about them by now. He had spent enough time hating Kinkaid's dream team of special ops.

"You are retired," he sputtered. His mixed anger and confusion was entertaining. "Why are you here?"

The men in black stood by the general, but they did not say a word. They did not have to. Daegel knew. His screaming started up again as he was dragged out. He was still putting up a fight. "This is not over Kinkaid," he yelled. But he knew. Deep down he knew.

His contract with GlobalGas would be terminated. His investment lost. He would have to answer to a military court for his actions, and he knew how that was going to go. Kinkaid watched until he was out of sight. He had enjoyed this, but you would not know it by looking at him. His blank face was every bit as effective as any of the rangemen.

"Lets go home," he said and he walked out of the room.

.

BRIGADIER GENERAL SCOTT ADAMS had been nervous since the moment that General Kinkaid had shown up on his base. Having a four star general staying with you was intimidating enough. But the added pressure from Daegel to spy on him and actually interfere with Kinkaids plans was more than he could take. The obligation that he had felt toward Daegel for so many years was hard to turn away from now.

So he had snooped around and reported everything that he could find out about what Kinkaid was doing. He had even badgered the Demir family for answers, a direct violation of the order he had been given to allow them feel safe and private during their stay at the base.

He needed a vacation. That's it, he thought. It sounded like the best idea to get away from Daegel and Kinkaid, and the whole messed up state of affairs. Even if it was the cowards way out, it still felt a lot better than the constant demanding calls from Daegel, or worse, a confrontation with Kinkaid.

It was easy enough to sign himself out of the base and say he was going to get some badly needed R&R. His bags were packed and thrown into the Hummer he used whenever he left the base. Another few minutes and his troubles would be far behind him for a couple of weeks.

Getting past the checkpoint at the gate seemed to be the sign that he needed that he was free from the drama and potential complications at the base. Adams relaxed and cranked up his music. His eyes had the mischievous gleam of that of a child who got away with a lie. It had been almost too easy, but he was not about to complain about the ease at which he was able to leave.

He was so happy about escaping, he became distracted and he was not aware of his surroundings until there was a black truck in front of him, and another behind him. The one in front slowed down, forcing Adams to do the same. He was directed to pull over, and he did so, but he was infuriated. Who would dare to detain a general? He stopped and jumped out of his vehicle. Heads were going to roll for this outrage. He started yelling at the men who had formed a circle around him.

Suddenly he was being served with a warrant for his arrest. Tank and Hal stood to the side, leaning against their truck and just watched the military police do their job. They were content to stay in the background as support during the deal. But fate had other plans.

Even in his civilian clothing, Adams was dressed, and he pulled out his gun. As crazy as it seemed, under the circumstance, he was not going give up and take this peacefully. He wanted a fight. So that is exactly what they gave him.

Tank and Hal were both on the move before he even noticed that they were there. While Adams was firing his weapons, in his misguided attempt to eliminate the threat to his freedom, he did not see they.

Hal was pulling the police officers down and out of the line of fire. Moving around to be behind Adams, Tank grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back, forcing the shots from the guns to fire into the air.

Adams could feel his bones snap at the same moment that he was slammed to the ground. An arm covered his chest. It was so big and heavy he could not breathe. The thought passed through his mind that he was going to die.

Suddenly the pressure was gone and he was surrounded by the police that he had, only seconds ago, been firing at. There was no good outcome from this, and he knew it. But he was no longer in the position to be able to fight. His breathing was still ragged, and as he was jerked to his feet, the pain from the broken clavicle nearly made him faint.

As he was shoved into the back of a vehicle, the list of charges that were sure to be brought against him now started scrolling through his mind. Adding assault with a deadly weapon to disobeying a direct order, no matter how small it had been, meant that Adam's career was over.

More than over. He had just humiliated himself in front of his men. He wished that he was dead.

**.**

THE WHOLE DAY HAD been full of unexpected and very unpleasant news. Daegel had been tying up way too much of his time, having him check on schedules, and appointments, and anything else he could think of. He had monopolized so much of his time, Jones had missed a few important calls and messages from Oersted.

Sitting at General Kinkaid's desk, as he so often did when no one else was in the office, Jones was still looking for what he knew he was not going to find. Daegel was especially insistent about it today, but he had been looking for it all year, and Jones had no illusions about finding it. It was just one more thing that had put him on edge.

Being in the office this early had never bothered him, he liked to have the time alone to do his snooping in private. With everything that had happened tonight, he was feeling a little bit more than jumpy, and every sound was causing him to panic. It was almost eight o'clock in the morning, and he had to remind himself that many of the secretaries and other support staff started coming to work this early, he should expect noises in the building.

He took in a deep breath, no sense in alarming himself unnecessarily. His heart was still calming down after the shock he had had when the phone had startled him a few minutes ago. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts, he literally jumped when it rang. He had been immediately annoyed, who called an office that early anyway? Jones knew that the call would be routed through the answering service, but the incident had kept him unsteady.

His fingers seemed to have stopped working for him as he fumbled through the contents of the lower drawer in the desk. He had not been able to get into this drawer before. During his other searches it had always been locked. Now he found that it was open, Kinkaid must have left in such a hurry that he forgot to lock it up. Jones was encouraged by his good luck and he was sure he would finally find what he had been looking for. Though why he would keep a personal photo album at the office, he did not know. But Daegel insisted that it had to be here and he was not to stop until he found it.

This strange night had really taken its toll on Jones. His usual internal safety and detection instincts were off and he missed the sense that he was no longer alone in the offices. He did not even feel the tingle down his spine like he normally did when threats were near him. He was so excited about finding the drawer open, he let everything else slide.

He did not know that there was a camera that was silently documenting his actions. Or that his mutterings and expletives were being recorded and could be heard in a conference room in Trenton, New Jersey.

Jones was in a hurry, it was a race against the clock to find what Daegel needed. The staff was scheduled to arrive any minute now. He took a second to look at his watch. He watched as the digital numbers changed from 7:59 to 8:00. He would remember that moment for the rest of his life.

Suddenly he was pulled into a headlock, huge muscular arms pinned him in place up against a hard chest and he did not dare even try to move.

"That's good." He felt, as much as heard a voice behind him growl. "It will go easier on you if you don't fight it."

Just then another man came into his line of sight. He was dressed all in black, just like the arm that held him like a vice. Where had these men come from? He had been alone in the office only seconds ago. His mind could not quite comprehend what was going on. That fact was plainly displayed on his face. King fought the urge to laugh.

Beam pushed Jones forward and then stopped in the lobby of the office. Jones felt like he was just hanging like a broken puppet, there was nothing that he could do. But think. His mind was racing back over the events of the past twelve hours, the past twelve days, the past twelve months.

He had been careful, he had been smart. Jones had covered all of his tracks. His communications with Daegel were always deleted, erased. His contact with Oersted was always on a burner phone, untraceable. And there was never even a paper trail that would lead anything back to him. He started to relax, at least as much as he could in the position he still found himself in. Beam felt his muscles soften, and it was his turn to laugh. The guy was so clueless.

It was not until the other man in black walked over to him with a box in his hands that Jones realized just how much trouble he was in. He tensed up again. The contents of that box had come from the bottom drawer. He had just been sorting through it all, looking for the photos that he never found.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. His prints were all over this office, he worked here, so he had never had to think twice about that before. So he had not been wearing gloves during this search either. Now his prints would be found in this private, locked drawer.

"He just figured it out," Beam said. King nodded and they shared a look that made Jones blood run cold.

This was bad. Very, very bad. Jones was starting to panic. At the very least, he would lose his job for invading privacy and breaking every rule of an assistant. That meant an end to his profitable relationship with Daegel.

In his worst case scenario, they would find out about that connection with Daegel, and then with Oersted. If that happened, he would never see the light of day again. They would lock him up and throw away the key. But that would never happen. There was no way for anyone to make that connection. And he was pretty sure that neither Daegel nor Oersted would be giving up that information anytime soon either.

He was overthinking things again. While it was an admirable trait when organizing his many covert assignments, it was only making him crazy right now. He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind. He had to, there were other things he needed to think about, like getting out of this present situation.

Then the phone in his pocket buzzed. Jones felt the blood drain from his face. Out of all the times for Oersted to call, he could not believe he had chosen this moment to return his calls. King retrieved the phone and pressed the green button. He placed the phone on the desk without saying a word.

It was if they already knew who was on the line. This was so much worse than he had imagined and he was under pressure to find a solution for the mess he was in. His go to answer had always been bribery. Jones had lots of money, he could afford to use some of it for his freedom now.

It was a move he would come to regret. His whispered offer was heard everywhere. In the conference room in Trenton, and in Kinkaid's office in Nicosia. Martin Beam and Roger King made no response to the insulting proposal. But Jones could tell immediately just how bad his idea had been. He slumped and hung his head down in defeat. He did not pay attention to the staff who showed up for work. He did not acknowledge the police that he was, none too gently, handed over to. He ignored the looks and whispers as he was paraded through the whole building and out to the waiting squad cars.

Terry Jones knew that it was all over.

.

GETTING INTO PLACE had been a piece of cake for the SWAT team, but for the lone fireman who accompanied them, it had been nerve wracking. Now he was staring at the small screen in his sweaty hands and waiting. The tiny clock in the corner of the screen told him that he only had one more minute to wait. It would feel like the longest minute of his life.

Jenkins had a lot to prove right now, and the pressure was building. He could do this, it had been a project that he had been working on for a few years now. One that he had not been able to get the department's approval on yet, because of the expense it involved. But he knew it would work, it would save lives. Now Barnes was giving him the chance to show everyone just what his 'firebot' could do.

He got the hand signal from the SWAT guy and he put his little robot in motion. With his controls the robot moved forward, the rollers silent on the carpeted floors. It approached the door and Jenkins got the next signal. He turned 'FB', as he affectionately call his creation, and rammed him into the wall. Then he got back into position. The robotic arm hovered near the doorknob. All he needed now was to have FB open the door and he would show the world that he had invented a tool that could be very useful to firefighters everywhere.

Once again, Jenkins got the okay to make the next move. He held his breath as the rubber covered hand mechanism grabbed the knob to rotate it. The door was locked, but that didn't stop FB. The torque he had given him was powerful enough to pull the knob right out of the door and that was exactly what Jenkins told him to do.

The second that the handle was demolished, FB pushed the door open. Shots rang out, and Jenkins was horrified at the images on the screen. FB was under attack. He tried to reverse the robot and get him away. The armor was good enough against heat and a blast of fire, but he had no idea if it was good enough to withstand that much firepower from a gun.

The screen when black at the same moment that the shooting abruptly stopped. No one in the hall moved. They could all hear noises from their position down the hall. A scuffle, shouts, and then a single word that brought relief to every person there. "Contained."

As anxious as he was to get to FB, Jenkins waited for the signal that he could move. Then he nodded and rushed down the hall, relieved to see that his robot was still intact. FB was just missing the arm that had opened the door. Jenkins was checking him out when Barnes joined him.

"He really did the job," Barnes said. Jenkins nodded.

He was patted on the back by the two members of the SWAT team who had been in the hall with him. Jenkins had not even seen the remaining two members of the team until they had forcefully escorted the man they now had in custody down the hall. He had known the details of the operation, and he knew that while he was drawing attention with FB, the men had climbed the fire escape and entered the room through the window.

At precisely 0800, Oersted had started shooting at FB while the they had crashed through the window and rushed the man who had his back to them. Jenkins was pleased with the success of the plan and, of course, his part in it.

The guy had fought hard, they had all heard that, but it had been two against one and it had not taken them long to subdue him and get him into cuffs. It had all happened so quickly. Jenkins was surprised when he saw the man. He was not at all what he had been picturing in his mind. He looked normal, like any guy you would see walking down the street. If he was muscular and could kill you with a look. Jenkins laughed at his own joke as he gathered up the pieces of FB and made his way back down to meet with the rest of the team.

Everyone watched as Oersted was transferred to the truck they had waiting for him. He was silent, a deliberate attempt on his part to give them nothing at all that could be used against him. Not even voice recognition. But he was angry. It showed in his eyes and the set of his jaw. It was all over for the mercenary, and he knew it.

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	27. Chapter 27

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Chapter 27 Epilogue

oOoOoOoOo

Stephanie was alone now, still sitting in the center of the temporary 'command central'. The guys had run out to get a look at Oersted. They would have about a minute to see him being taken to the truck before he was gone.

She got it, Oersted was the only bad guy in the operation today that they could actually see. Everyone wanted the satisfaction of watching him being taken away. It was always hard for the guys left behind. Usually they didn't get to know any of the details of the ops, but this time, they were part of the team.

She wondered how they did this all the time. The not knowing, the worrying, the stress, the fear. Stephanie sat staring at the monitor, the one that had shown Ranger in the lab. It was black now, but the splatter of blood all over the white tiles was an image she couldn't get out of her mind.

A single tear escaped the overflow that had been gathering in her eyes. It was all it took to start the deluge. Her body started shaking as the tears streamed down her face. Still she sat in her chair unable to move.

An arm was around her shoulders, lifting her from the chair and pulling her into a hug.

"You should probably try to get some sleep," a voice said. Stephanie nodded, but she did not think that it was possible.

All these years, she had known that Ranger had been sent off to do these missions. She thought that she knew that he had been in danger, the guys had always hinted at that fact. But it had never been real. Until today.

Now she could think of nothing else. One single comment, that she had heard after it was all over, had stuck in her brain.

"This was a party compared to the place we got sent to last year, no one even got a scratch."

It had left her with a heavy sense of dread, of fear. She couldn't shake it. She wanted to think of Ranger, he was coming home. But when she focused on him, the drops of bright red blood reminded her of how close he had been to getting hurt. Of getting killed. Of never coming back to her again.

Somehow she had ended up in the apartment. She was sitting on the edge of the bed when the phone rang. Stephanie lunged at it, scooping up the receiver and placing it on her ear in quick movement. "Ranger?" she said. Her throat was so dry, it came out as a hoarse whisper. She tried to swallow, and cleared her throat. "Ranger?" she asked again.

"Babe," he said, and she melted into a puddle in the middle of the bed.

"Steph," he said. "We will be coming back today." She nodded, though she knew he could not see it.

"Babe are you okay?" Ranger asked. Tears were falling again and she was having a hard time saying anything. She swallowed hard again and tried.

"Ranger," she managed. "Are you?"

He understood. They were 5000 miles apart and he could feel her anguish. Instantly he put the bits and pieces of conversations he'd just had with his men together. They'd had a front row seat to this op. Stephanie had seen the guns and the blood, experienced the tension, and the stress of the situation, times four.

She had been right there in the middle of it all, doing her best to find the information that would help him. He had been so proud of her. Now he understood what she had been through, and he knew what to do.

"I want to be there right now," he said softly. "I want to hold you in my arms, and feel your arms around me too."

"Ranger," she whispered.

"I will be there soon Babe," he said. "I have so many things that I want to tell you, but now all I can say is that I love you."

"Ranger," the single uttered word said what she could not. He knew.

"Close your eyes," he told her. "Close your eyes and I am with you."

For the first time since all this had happened, she was able to picture him as she had seen him last, in his office. Stephanie clung to that image. A smile found its way into her heart, and onto her lips.

"Ranger," she tried again to speak, but emotions still made it impossible.

"I am with you always Steph, you are in my heart," he spoke so softly, and she heard the same emotions, that she was feeling, in his voice.

"Ranger, I love you," she said the words that she needed to say, that he needed to hear. It was what they both needed.

"Sleep now Babe," he told her. "Sleep and dream of me."

Her heart was full. Gone was the dark agony, the terror. She let his voice surround her, and fill her with the love he professed.

"I love you," she said again. And he knew she was sleeping now. Dreaming of him.

.

SIX MONTHS LATER

The core team was back in Nicosia. At the moment they were all seated, listening to the soft strains of music floating above the sounds of the ocean, mingling with the cry of the birds in the trees.

All eyes were on Francis Turner. Handsome in his Black suit, he waited for Anna to walk down the aisle to him. He had never been so happy. Not in his entire life had he ever dreamed of having someone as wonderful as Anna in his life.

That joy radiated from him, and it matched the happiness that they could all see in Anna Landon as she joined him. Their hands were clasped together as they shared their vows.

Neither wavered as they shared promises to love and honor and cherish each other. They would, for eternity.

Of course there was not a dry eye in the whole group. Everyone at RangeMan had seen this relationship growing and deepening day by day. Though the op was over, and Turner was no longer in danger, they insisted that he stay with them, at least until General Kinkaid could arrange to have the property renovated. Those terrorists, it seemed, were terrible caretakers. The mess they had left was despicable.

Once the bodies had been removed, Kinkaid had taken it upon himself to have the work done to restore the whole property to its former beauty. That work had taken exactly long enough for Francis Turner to propose to Anna Langdon. And once Anna had seen the serenity and natural wonders of the island, they had decided to have their wedding right here.

The photographer was busy arranging the couple and their guests in all kinds of groupings, every moment of this day was being documented. Stephanie looked on with an indulgence that only another woman in love would understand. She was happy for Francis and Anna. They would spend their life together here on the island, fishing and reading and cooking together. And loving every minute. She was truly happy for them.

DJ waved to Stephanie as she passed by. She wandered around the beach for a while, she had never seen the property in the daylight. Her memories of the night she and Aaron had officially met were so vivid. DJ remembered shaking his hand for the first time and feeling the spark that took her breath away.

As she was looking out over the waves, she felt him come up behind her. Sure enough Aaron's arms wrapped around her and he pulled her gently into his embrace. They stayed there for several moments, wordlessly sharing the moment of peace before returning to the party.

The ring on her finger reminded everyone that another wedding was in the future. It always thrilled her when the light would hit it just right and she would catch the sparkle that reflected off of the most beautiful diamond that she had ever seen.

DJ could not help but remember the day that Aaron had slipped it onto her finger. He had found her on the roof again. It was where the tiny chopper had been kept. She smiled, at the thought of her surprise. Kinkaid had had the bird brought over after the op was done. A gift, he had said, a reminder that that he would never forget her. She was touched, but she knew what he was doing. He was saying goodbye, and she could not let him do that. General Douglas Kinkaid had been the only father that she had known, and depended on, for years. There was no way she was letting him slip out of her life.

The look in his eyes, when she told him that she would need to take the bird out for a spin on a weekly basis, showed that he understood her meaning. And every week she flew out to DC to spend a day with him. They both needed it. And now they both fiercely protected the time that they got to share with one another.

She visited her bird on other days too, and on one of those days, Aaron had slipped inside the cockpit with her. Sitting in the co-pilots seat again, he turned to her and smiled. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. She looked up at him in surprise. How did he know?

At first she shook her head 'no'. It was so personal, she didn't even know how to explain it. But he took her hand and did not push her or pry. He just held on and let her work it out in her own time, in her own way.

"Today is my 'alive day'," she finally said. Her voice so low, he had almost not heard her. Now he understood. This was the day that she didn't die. The anniversary of being hit with the missile that had nearly, but not quite killed her. A day she would never be able to forget.

DJ had not died that day, but she had become a different person. Aaron shared a quiet moment with her before she spoke. "By the time I woke up, everything had changed. I was in Germany, I had been honorably discharged from the Air Force, and my family had been killed." Her voice had become rough with emotion and Aaron gently squeezed her hand. He did not speak, he knew it was her time to sort out her feelings. A ritual that he knew she would go through her whole life.

"I thought that I had nothing left, and that is when Kinkaid walked in and offered me a chance to make a significant difference in the lives of other soldiers." She looked up at him now, she wanted him to see why she had chosen to join the Night Stalkers.

He nodded and she realized that he did know. He never thought that she was after a death wish, like so many others had accused her of. He knew that she wanted to help. That it was her way of giving others their 'alive days' too. All of that she understood in a single look.

DJ smiled. This had been her best 'alive day' ever. She was in love with the most wonderful man that she had ever met. And he was in love with her. Any melancholy, that this day had ever brought, dissolved away, and was replaced with only the gratitude that she was here and that she had found him.

As he felt her mood change, he looked into her eyes. The sparkle was back, this was a day to remember, for the gift that she had been given. He would always celebrate it as the day that brought her to him. He smiled. This was the day.

"Up for a ride?" he innocently asked her. She never turned down a chance to take out her bird. So they lifted off of the roof and ended up on the beach in Point Pleasant.

Walking along the edge of the water, Aaron spotted a large tree trunk half submerged in the sand, a perfect place to sit and watch the gentle rhythm of the waves. DJ sat in front of him, leaning back into his arms. She had not thought anything of it when he lifted one hand to his lips. She had not suspected that he had a ring in his hand, until he slipped it onto her finger.

"Marry me," he had whispered into her ear. Tears had filled her eyes and she twisted around to look into his face. She wanted him to see her when she said yes.

That had been over a month ago, and they had yet to announce the date of the wedding. Stephanie suspected that they had just not wanted to look like they were competing for attention from the other weddings that had happened in the past few months.

Hand in hand, DJ and Aaron left the beach, mingling with their friends, sharing the magic of the day. When she saw Beyza coming toward her, DJ smiled and opened her arms. It was so good to see her again.

Beyza held her hand in hers and admired the sparkle of the ring. "It matches the light in your eyes," she said and made DJ laugh. Beyza and Galif had joined the celebration. They were neighbors now, of Francis and Anna, as Beyza's family lived only half an hour away in another little beach community.

Their own nuptials had been just after the family moved there. And, for now, they still lived on the island. Their work with the resistance had been limited to intelligence and strategy, and they found that they liked it that way.

Galif pulled Beyza into the dance that had now started. Aaron wrapped his arms around DJ again and they swayed together as they watched the rest of the couples join Francis and Anna. "Do you want to dance?" he asked her. She held onto his hands and asked him for a few more minutes just like this. He nodded and held her just a little bit tighter. He agreed with her, this is exactly where he wanted to be too.

Over the head of his dance partner, Smith shot a knowing glance. He had only met DJ six months ago, but because of the unique circumstances, they had grown very close since then. It was funny, he thought. Kinkaid had come into both of their lives and changed them completely, but they had never met until Kinkaid had sent DJ to help him out.

He chuckled a little at that thought, it had not turned out quite like the general had thought. DJ had become something of a sister to him. He bet Kinkaid had never seen that coming.

"Derek?"

The woman in his arms looked up when he had laughed. She smiled at him, he had been prone to these little personal moments ever since she had met him a few months back. At first she had been confused by them, but the more she got to know Derek, the more she understood that he was getting to know himself again. The John Smith that she had been introduced to several months ago, was actually Derek Patton.

Of course, she was not supposed to know his name, but as Kinkaid's new assistant, she had come across some files hidden in the desk that had been vacated by Terry Jones. As she understood it, Jones was now a permanent guest of the Department of Corrections.

It explained a lot about the scrutiny that she had been receiving since she had been hired. General Kinkaid had personally asked her to interview for the position. A big surprise, since she had been working as a librarian in the library of congress, and didn't know anyone in the Pentagon. But it had been a great offer. So she had seriously considered it. However, her mind had not been made until Derek Patton, AKA John Smith walked into the office after her third interview with the general.

He was aloof, and distant and good looking and there was something sad in his eyes. All she knew was that she had to get to know him, so she told the general, right there on the spot that she would take the position.

Derek had looked at her very closely when she had accepted. She returned the look, and they had been looking into each other's eyes ever since.

"Ah," he acknowledged his lapse again. She called him on all of his musings and memories. He had not been aware of his sighs and laughs or the sharp intake of breath that had shown that he was thinking of something. That she did, and then gently asked him to share with her, endeared her to him in ways he had never expected to experience in his whole life.

Being someone else for so long had made it hard for him to get to know Derek again. It had been a shock when she had discovered his paperwork. Apparently Jones had kept it for future use. Maybe he thought to blackmail Kinkaid, or even Smith himself, when it would be most profitable to do so.

But Mary had just wanted to know who Derek was. And he was surprised when he discovered that he wanted her to know Derek, and not John. Everything had changed for him when Mary Wade had dropped into his life.

"Aaron is in love," Derek said. "I like to think that I know just how he feels." He smiled at her, and the look in his eyes was only for her. A smile, a sweet and knowing smile graced her soft lips, and Derek did one of those little intake things.

Mary kissed his cheek and put her lips close to his ear. "Yes," she said.

Derek pulled back immediately to see her face. She was nodding, and there were a few tears forming in her eyes. She meant it and he had never known a moment happier in his entire life. "Yes," he had to confirm that he had heard her.

"Yes!" she repeated it again and threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her tight. She said yes. It was the answer that he had wanted to hear when he had proposed to her last week. Instead she had told him that she needed to think about it before she could give him her answer. One day he would know that the answer had always been yes. From the first time she had seen him, the answer had been yes.

Mary had needed to know that it was the same for him. She hated to have any doubts, but he himself had told her, countless times, that he had been two people for so long it was hard to know who he really was. She needed to know that Derek Patton/John Smith knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was in love with her and that marriage was the right thing for them.

Now she knew, and she accepted the ring that he slipped onto her finger. The ring that he had carried in his pocket since the day he had first asked her. He was certain, and though it killed him that she made him wait, he wanted her to be sure too. Now he knew, and he was the happiest man on earth.

Ranger saw the exchange, and he turned Stephanie's head to see the moment as it happened. They had been standing near the grove of trees when the dancing started, and now Ranger put his hand out in an invitation to join him on the dance floor. Well, it was really only a cleared space of the lawn, but it served the purpose admirably.

Her smile was radiant as she placed her hand in his and followed him to the center of the space. DJ and Aaron had just joined in as well, and Stephanie watched the way they were so absorbed in each other. It was so sweet.

She looked over at Smith again. Derek. Stephanie corrected herself. It was hard to think of him as anyone other than John Smith. But Derek fit him so well too. With an inward shrug, she figured she would always think of him as both.

Mary was perfect for him. They looked like they were in their own little world too. Love was certainly in the air, and she look a sideways glance at Ranger. He was studying her again. She had caught him doing that a lot lately. He knew. How did he always know? Stephanie reached up and kissed him gently on his lips. He knew, but she was still going to wait a little longer before she said anything.

TBC…..

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	28. Chapter 28

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Chapter 28. Epilogue part 2

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The band was spectacular. Stephanie marveled at the acoustics of it, even out here in the yard. She placed her head on Ranger's shoulder as they gently swayed to the music. Each time they made a small turn, she caught sight of her friends.

Anna and Francis made the most amazing couple. They both deserved to find each other and live a beautiful life together. DJ and Aaron had been so shy about their feelings for each other, but it had not taken long for them to promise to spend their lives together. Stephanie could not wait for their wedding! Beautiful Beyza and her husband Galif had become fast friends the moment she had met them. Her eyes had just landed on Binky, the girl who he brought with him was a close friend. 'Yeah, right," Stephanie let herself think. They always start out as close friends.

Just then, Ron ran toward her. He had been over to talk to the leader of the small local band that had been playing the music for the wedding. He skidded to a stop just a few feet away from Stephanie and looked at Ranger first and then at her as he asked, "May I?" They both laughed and nodded and he spun Stephanie around, then he grinned big as the band started playing Metallica. "Remember?" he asked her. She was shocked. They had never talked about it, and she had been so sure that he had not remembered her singing him to sleep after he kidnapped her. What else did she get wrong about that crazy night?

She laughed, and even across the yard, Ranger heard her and let the sound tickle up his spine. He loved it when it did that. He looked at her, watching the way she was teasing her friend. "No way you heard me sing this song!" she said.

Ranger remembered that she had told him all about the night she had been dragged into the vacant building around the corner. He had been so ready to kill the man who had dared hurt her, but Stephanie had ended that rage with a few words.

"He needed me," she said. Then she added "He needed us." Their discussion had turned from his anger toward Ron Faust, to a job recommendation. "With his skills, he and Hector could rule the world," she had said to make him laugh. It had worked, with his fury diffused, he had to look at the possibilities. Ranger was always looking for the best of the best to bring into his company. To put it simply, Ron was the best.

All he needed after that talk with Stephanie was Hector's approval. He got it, and Ron Faust had been offered a job in the expanding technical department of RangeMan Inc. Their gain was GlobalGas's loss. Kinkaid could only shrug his shoulders about it now, but at the time that he got the news that Faust was leaving, he was not so forgiving. He was not happy about it at all, and even tried to get Derek, or as he still called him, Smith, to convince him to stay.

There was nothing that Derek could do. There was something that RangeMan had that GlobalGas did not. Ron had always needed a good friend. His childhood had been spent not trusting anyone because of the cruel way children can treat each other. As an adult, he hid behind his genius, accidentally pushing people away. He had no friends at the lab. Smith was the closest he had come, but even he did not spend all of his time in Nicosia anymore.

All things considered, it came down to the simple fact that once he had Stephanie as a friend, Ron felt that he could be himself at RangeMan. No one judged him as being a geek, in fact they applauded his skills, and for the first time since working on the drones with Derek, he was actually collaborating on projects, with Hector and Aaron.

As Hector was quick to tell you, Ron had a wicked sense of humor. The guys joked around with him, and that was something that Kinkaid could never replace, not even with a huge salary increase. Ron had money, what he wanted was to belong. He now belonged at RangeMan.

Suddenly, the laughing Ron, stopped and looked at her solemnly. "I hear you sing this song to me every night," he said. "I remember the way you made me feel safe. I will never forget that."

She had no words to say after that and she pulled him into a hug. Like the other guys, Ron was her brother here, and she was humbled to know that is how he felt.

The music stopped and it was announced that the cake was about to be cut. Ron stepped back and looked at Stephanie. All they needed to say was in their smiles. Ranger moved closer and exchanged a complicated handshake with Ron before he walked away. Ron kept the smile on his face, he had always wanted to do that!

As it always was with the rangemen, you never knew when one of them was going to surprise you. Such was the case with Toa Filiaga. Tonight, he was Chef Toa and he brought out the magnificent creation that was the wedding cake. He had come over a few days early, to work on it in Francis's new kitchen, and it was a work of art.

Anna brought both hands to her lips in delight. "Oh, Toa," she raved. "It is perfect!" Toa may have blushed a bit under his darkened skin, but he was pleased with her reaction and he bowed gallantly, handing her the fancy ivory handled knife with a smile. Anna took Francis by the hand and they made the first cut. He helped to pick up the first slice and they shared small bites of cake before Toa began to serve everyone.

Stephanie moaned at the chocolate ganache filling and put her plate and fork down, one bite was enough. It was wonderful, Toa had outdone himself this time. As she walked over to tell him so, she couldn't help but remember the cake he had made for her wedding. A misty smile came with that memory. Toa had saved the day, and until then, she hadn't even known that he baked.

Her wedding preparations had been anything but traditional. She had given everyone one day to help her pull it together. Her mother was beside herself, but with the help of her sister and grandmother, things came together just fine. All except for the cake.

Toa volunteered and before she knew it, Stephanie was looking at the most beautiful cake she had ever seen. It was three stacked layers that he had decorated with super fine piping that resembled lace. It was so exquisite, she had been reluctant to cut into it. Ranger had solved that particular problem by placing his hand over hers and running the knife through the work of art. When he fed her a bite, she found that it tasted even better than it looked.

Her reminiscing continued when Ranger looked up at her gave her that secret smile of his. The morning that they had returned from Nicosia, Ranger had wasted no time getting her alone so that they could finally have the talk that had been delayed too many times. Without a word he had grabbed her by the hand and gone immediately to the apartment.

When they were sitting on the couch, facing each other, he took her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, he almost got lost in their depths, but there were so many things he had been wanting to say. She watched his chest expand when he inhaled. He was nervous, and that caught her off guard, Ranger was never nervous about anything.

"Stephanie," he said, "I need you to know how much I love you." He did not wait for a response. "I think I realized it a long time ago, but I've tried hard to ignore it."

Stephanie was not shocked by this, how many times had he said things to push her away. And how many times had she let him do it, because of her own fears that she did not truly know how he felt. To have him now admitting this much was a revelation in itself.

In the past he would never let anything get past the flirting stages. Then it dawned on her. Joe had been the security blanket for both of them. If they started getting too close, Ranger could say something that would send her back to Joe. Or if she got scared of the commitment, that she now knew she had always wanted, she could play the Joe card.

It was all so clear to her now, and she could see how unfair it had been to Joe. But he was no longer in the picture. At all. Stephanie had to let Ranger know that there was no Joe factor any more.

She squeezed his hands, and his gaze shifted. Taking a deep breath, she said what she needed to say in a rush of words that came out all jumbled together.

"Joe is gone Ranger. Well, he has been gone for a long time, but now he is really gone,gone. As in I was about to end it with him, once and for all, and he came over and did it first. We were playing games with all of our time outs, it was never a real relationship."

She stopped abruptly and took a deep breath. They had each been focused on their clasped hands, but now their eyes met again.

"I love _you_," she said finally said. "I have always love you!"

His heart filled with that euphoria that only comes when you know your love is returned. He could have left it at that. Stephanie had said it all. But he knew that he still needed to say the words that he had kept in for so long.

"Babe," he leaned over to kiss her and he pulled her into his arms. "I need to say that I am sorry for all the times that I almost told you how I felt, but didn't. I have wasted so much time, and I have only myself to blame for it."

She felt his heart pounding in his chest, as his arms pulled her even closer. "I will spend the rest of my life trying to make that up to you," he said. "And I will start now."

From somewhere came a ring. He slid it onto her finger and held her hand up. He smiled at how much he liked seeing his ring on her hand. "Stephanie," he whispered. "Will you marry me, today?"

Without hesitation, Stephanie turned to kiss him. "Yes," she said. "Tomorrow" He nodded and kissed her back.

The wedding had happened, the very next day. It miraculously came together and they got married, surrounded by the friends that were with them here today.

Stephanie hugged Toa, her arms barely reaching around his massive shoulders. "It is almost the best cake that I have ever tasted," she teased him with a smile, and a wink. They both knew that nothing would ever taste as good to her as her own wedding cake had.

"Thanks," Toa said modestly. "I think Anna liked it."

She punched his arm in jest, "Yeah, maybe a little bit."

Ranger joined them and did the man hug thing with Toa. "It looks great man," he said. Then he pulled Stephanie away from the crowd that had formed around the cake.

"Babe," he said. "Is something wrong?" his eyes were narrowed in concern, and she suddenly felt awful for hiding anything from him.

They sat at a table, facing each other, Stephanie's hands enveloped in Ranger's. Stephanie looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "I wanted to surprise you, not scare you."

He seemed to stop breathing, not knowing what she was going to say next. So she hurried to continue. "Ranger, it won't be official until we get back home, but I got my certification for a concealed weapon permit," she said. She knew how important her safety was to him. So she had been training in the gym with DJ, and as a surprise for him, she had talked the guys into giving her shooting lessons. The hours she had spent practicing on the range had been hard to hide, but they had paid off and she would now be able to competently carry a gun with her at all times.

The look in his eyes was not what she expected. Was he relieved? Still worried? Shocked? Stephanie hurried to let him know that she may not like guns but she was no longer scared of them. Finally he smiled. Leaning forward, his forehead met hers. "Proud of you babe," he said.

That is where Kinkaid found them. He cleared his throat politely to get their attention. Ranger looked up and then stood. "General," he said.

"Sit, please," Kinkaid said as he also took a seat. For a moment, he looked out over the people here today. So much had changed for all of them over the past few months. Kinkaid was still splitting his time between DC and here in Nicosia. Things had changed for him too, he mused.

Ranger sat perfectly still, no matter how different things were now than they were six months ago, he never knew what to expect from Kinkaid. So Stephanie watched him as he eyed the general suspiciously. Her heart started to beat wildly. Of all the times not to have her gun with her. She surprised herself with that thought. Maybe she would now have to admit that the permit was for Ranger's protection as much as it was for her own. What a concept.

But the general put both of their minds at ease. "Turner has been a good sport through this all, I was almost surprised that he invited me to their wedding," he said. "I'm sorry I could not make it for the ceremony."

DJ came and joined them, Kinkaid immediately getting absorbed in her chatter. Stephanie watched them. He was no longer a four star general commanding his troops, with DJ he was a proud dad. The transformation in his when she was near was astounding. She pulled Ranger with her and left them to the private conversation they were having.

Once again they were standing at the edge of the trees looking out at the joyous occasion that had brought them all together again. As much as Stephanie loved her adopted family, the person she was happy to be with was the man by her side. It may have taken them a long time to get here. Too long. But they were together now and nothing had ever felt so right.

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A/N. It is always hard for me to end a story, and say goodbye to my favorite characters. Even harder to say goodbye to all of you who have been on this journey with me. I want to thank you for sticking with me through it all. And thanks for leaving your comments, I truly appreciate your participation and kind words. This has been another great experience. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Sandra

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